February 5:15 Serve Day Recap

This past Saturday The Exchange took part in our second 5:15 serve day where we aim to live out the second verse from our foundational passage - 2 Corinthians 5:15 "He died for all that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for Him who died for them and was raised again." This month we partnered with a number of churches in the Jackson metro area to take part in SHINE 2012. A day where thousands of people are mobilized to serve the metro area. The Exchange team served at the Crisis Pregnancy Center in Pearl and at Pearl Lower Elementary. At the Crisis Pregnancy Center the team did some outside cleanup and also helped inside sorting through clothes and donations. At Pearl Lower Elementary the team worked to plant a brand new flower bed at the school's entrance.

Below are some pictures from our 5:15 event:

Highlights from the February Interest Meeting

Sunday night was our 2nd public interest meeting where we personally invited anyone to come and hear more about what God is doing through this new church in Pearl. We were so excited to see new people take part in the meeting at the Pearl Community Room! At the meeting we laid out why it makes sense to plant a new church, why we believe God is calling us to plant in Pearl, and why we are called The Exchange. We also spent time looking at the foundational passage for The Exchange - 

2 Corinthians 5:14-21. This month we looked at verse 15 that says, "And He died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for Him who died for them and was raised again." We discussed how although the idea of no longer living for ourselves is contrary to our nature, our world, and sometimes even our view of church, ultimately this idea is right in line with the Word and the way Jesus lived His life.

God is doing some amazing things as He continues to build a team of individuals to love and serve this city with His message of grace and love. Mark your calendars to be a part of the next interest meeting Sunday, March 18th at 6pm at the Community Room in Pearl.

Below are some pictures from our February Interest Meeting:

Be a Part of The Exchange's 2nd Interest Meeting

Mark your calendar and be a part of The Exchange's second public interest meeting this Sunday, February 19th at 6:00pm at the Pearl Community Room. The Community Room is located at 2420 Old Brandon Road between the Pearl Library and City Hall.  If you are interested in praying for, giving to, or just hearing more information about what God is doing through this brand new church, come by and join us for a time of fellowship, worship, and teaching and bring a friend. Everyone is welcome! For more information check out our website TheExchange.cc.

Support The Exchange for FREE!!!

Would you like to support what God is doing through The Exchange every time you search on the internet at no cost to you? The Exchange has partnered with an awesome website called Good Search. Every time you search for something online using Good Search they will donate a penny to The Exchange. Good Search also has Good Shop which partners with tons of online shopping sites like Walmart, Amazon, Apple, Ebay and more, and each time you purchase something from one of these online stores using Good Search a portion of your purchase will also go to The Exchange. It's all free and simple!!!

Here's how it works:
1. Go to www.GoodSearch.com
2. Create a log-in - it's simple and free
3. Go back to the Good Search homepage and underneath the search bar click on "Choose Your Cause"
4. Type in "The Exchange - Pearl" and "Verify"

You can set Good Search as your homepage or just make sure you use it anytime you search for or buy something online. Anytime you visit the Good Search homepage you can see an updated total of how much you have helped contribute as well as how much money has been raised for The Exchange. Please tell your family, co-workers, and anyone else you know about this awesome, free way to financially support what God is doing through The Exchange!

For more information about Good Search and how it works check out this video:
http://youtu.be/Rijmf7-kmi4

Asking Great Things for The Exchange

Studies show that one of the main keys to any great relationship is communication. At The Exchange we believe the same goes for our relationship with God. He not only wants to hear from us, but He communicates back and responds in ways we could have never imagined. Jeremiah 33:3 says,
"Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know."
God doesn't promise to just give us the normal, expected, everyday answer, but instead He says that He will tell us great and unsearchable things that we do not know or could have never imagined. We are convinced that the God we serve is completely other than us and wants to blow our minds with His power and presence, so He is not intimidated when we pray big prayers!

A HUGE part of launching a brand new church is having a committed group of people who are continually praying for the work God is doing and wants to do. At The Exchange we are looking to find people who are willing to consistently "exchange their words" through praying big prayers for the church and our team. We would be thrilled if you, your small group, or your church would be willing to partner with us in this way. Here are some specific things that you can pray for over the next few weeks:

• Life exchange at our February 19th interest meeting
• More leaders for our launch team
• A place for us to meet for preview gatherings starting in May & weekly gatherings in August
• Generous investors to financially support what God is doing

If you, your small group, or your church would be willing to partner with The Exchange by praying for us, please shoot us a quick email at info@theexchange.cc to let us know so we can keep you updated on what God is doing.

Highlights from the 1st Interest Meeting

Sunday night was the 1st public interest meeting for The Exchange. Anyone was welcome to come and hear more about what God is doing through this new church in Pearl. We were so excited to see 47 people take part in the meeting at the Pearl Community Room that God so graciously provided! At the meeting we spent time hanging out over some hot chocolate and coffee, worshipping, praying for the city, discussing our different views of the Church, talking through the mission and vision of The Exchange, and breaking open God's Word.

Some key things we heard at the meeting:
- We all have many different views of church but God is calling us to be a new expression of church in this city to reach people
- The #1 way to reach people far from God is through launching new churches, and our #1 priority is to reach people far from God
- 3,500 churches in America close their doors every year, so our question shouldn't be "Why plant a new church?" but "Why not plant a new church?"
- 1/4th of the city of Pearl is under the age of 18, so we want to be intentional about investing in the next generation through the schools
- An estimated 70% of the over 25,000 people in the growing city of Pearl are unchurched. However, we asked the question: How many more people are not walking in a daily life-giving relationship with Jesus?
- 2 Corinthians 5:14 (part of the foundational passage for The Exchange) tells us that Jesus loves us with an overwhelming, unconditional love that compels or motivates us to serve others, tell others what Jesus can do for them, and celebrate changed lives

God is doing some incredibly exciting things as He continues to put this team together to love and serve this city with His message of grace and love. Mark your calendars to be a part of the next interest meeting Sunday, February 19th at 6:00pm at the Community Room in Pearl.

Why Plant a New Church?

You may be asking why plant a new church? Aren't there enough churches already? Statistics show the most effective way to reach the un-churched is through new church plants, which is clearly a part of scripture and God's heart. Here are some things that you might not have known about the mission of the local church in the United States:

195 million Americans are un-churched

The U.S. is the 3rd largest un-churched nation

Only 15% of American churches reproduce themselves

80-85% of ALL churches in America are plateaued or declining

Of the 15% of churches that are growing,

14% are growing as a result of transfer 

rather than conversion growth

3,500 churches in America close their doors every year

North America is now the only continent 

in which Christianity is not growing

As we see these staggering numbers our main question moved from "why plant a new church?" to why NOT plant a new church?" If you walked up to a couple of people struggling to pull a person out of a pool that was drowning, would you just watch them or walk by and think you don't need to jump in because there are already two people helping? I imagine you would jump in and do everything you could to help keep the person from drowning! At The Exchange we believe this picture is much like what is happening with the mission of the local church in the world. We see tons of people around us drowning without the hope of life in Christ, and we are simply aiming to jump in and do all we can to help. We would love to have you partner with The Exchange to help us through God's power make a dent in the staggering numbers you just read, please check out our website www.TheExchange.cc 

All statistics from Planting Growing Churches in the 21st century 
and from the Center of Church Planting at Liberty Baptist Theological Seminary.