777 church

Change is hard

Wow.... I guess this old blog is still running. I honestly thought it had expired, but I guess not. Well, for those of you who still read it, thanks for stopping bye. I have to tell you that the last 3 months have been a living hell. However on the flip side, I am seeing a vision that God gave me 9 years ago coming to pass. The crazy thing is I had no idea the cost.

I have lost partners and friends that have been in my life for many years. I have allowed my reputation, as a man of God, to become suspect to people that I have invested years in. But what I realize is that God wants me to be completely dependant on him and not on my friends. I have spent many years developing friendships at the cost of my calling to be a Pastor Evangelist. I have learned that it is a selfish thing on my part to spend God's time on developing more and more friendships, while more and more people in our generation suffer from a lack of leadership and discipleship. It's time for me to focus on reaching and teaching our generation the truth of God. I'm sorry If I hurt anyones feelings, it's not personal. I truly do love all the people that God has allowed me to become friends with. I wish you the best and am comfident that God is leading you.

The bottom line is.... Change is hard. But the reality is without change, things stay the same. And unfortunatley I am not comfortable with the way things are right now and I'm willing to make the changes necesarry to attain the bigger picture. There are thousands upon thousands of people in need of Christ in the world and God has asked me to start with the ones I know best..... The knucklehead 19-45 year old party crowd....and San Bernardino is full of them. That is the heart beat of 777 church. There will be no compromise. We will learn to love each other and to know God. We will commit ourselves to the teaching of the word, the fellowship, breaking of bread, and prayer (acts 2:42) and will see God add to the church.

I want to thank anyone who has been part of 777. God has used your hard work and involvement to get us to this point. You are appreciated. I also want to thank Pastor willie dalgity "set free yucaipa" for sponsoring us, Don overstreet "sbc church planter" your 40 years of experience has been a light in our darkness, Pastor flo "new generation church, mo valley", for going through the same crap as me (: it's good to have someone who understands, Deryl Lackey "sbc missions director" the rock of wisdom and leadership in my life and financial support, Our whole financial board, those who are contributing financially, everyone who is continueing on in the battle at 777 church and special thanks to: Richard Bohlenius, Erin and Jason Karpenick and Rod and jen Merritt, more than friends... more than ministry partners. indiscribable relationship. We love you guys so much. and above all.... My family..... The Ultimate Pastor's wife "Kim O'Donnell" My best friend, lover, mother of my children, Ministry partner, life partner, most precious gift. My beautiful Children Steven, Allyssa, and jessica... you are the best kids any dad could ever ask for. Jesus Christ... Lord and Savior, I love you. Help me to take care of your things. peace.

777 childrens program

many people have questions about our Childrens program.... well, my kids came home last week telling me about shadrac, mishac, and abendigo. Do you know who they are? Below is the blog from Rod on our website 777 Church.com

What about my children?
Connecting Our Church By Rod Merritt on 4/28/2007 12:16 PM
What about a childrens program?

The answer is Yes. Your kid's are important. We have a fantastic childrens program.

Is it more than just babysitting and coloring books?

All of the senior pastors have children. They expect their kids and yours to be taught about Jesus every Sunday. We had 30 kids on Sunday and Renee Eblen did a fantastic job coordinating the volunteers and the lesson. Your kids will be taught about Jesus.

If you have any questions or concerns about the childrens program contact Renee Eblen

777 Church

Is it true? Did I branch out and start a Church? Yesss..........it is true....I am nacho, the luchador (:

For those of you who are not aware, I did Plant a new 777 Church in San Bernardino. You may have heard a lot of weird stories so I figured I would set the record straight. The first question you probably have is, "are you and Sandals ok"? The answer to that is.... Absolutley! We Have always had our ups and downs, just like any authentic relationship, we come from 2 different worlds, but I love my brothers and sisters at Sandals.
Let me just give you a little history about my journey with Christ. About a year after my crazy first meeting with Christ, God revealed to me a calling to be a pastor. I didn't know exatly what that entailed, but I knew it would be dealing with extreame people like myself who did not grow up in Church. At the time I was at a great Church called Victoria Community Church (The Grove). I trained for 2 1/2 years to be a Pastor, was supposed to be licensed, but wasn't???. I started a ministry back then called "crosswalk". I know, a little cheesy and churchy, but I was learning how to keep it real, it's taken a while. Anyways, I started this ministry out of frustration from bringing my unchurched friends to church and them not fitting in. So I began playing music and preaching at an outdoor venue, with the whole barbeque, hang out vibe. I had about 40 to 50 people attending and many people got saved. Great times... about this same time a similar ministry started. This produced a little problem.... this ministry wanted to reach the same crowd as me, only with a different strategy. Well of course the church had to make a decision on who they would support, because we couldn't have 2 ministries doing the same thing, so the support went to the "porch".

Many people in crosswalk were hurt and wanting me to start on my own, but I knew I wasn't ready and had much to learn. So for the next year I resigned my staff position, commited to a 5 year bachelors program at CBU and stayed at "The Grove".
These were tuff times for me. I would lead people to Christ and try to get them plugged in but most of them didn't really identify. So one day I was at the shop in corona and I got a call from Matt Brown at Sandals Church. I knew Matt from when Sandals use to meet at the Grove. He knew I had a crazy testimony and asked me to come and speak at the Sandals first mens retreat. Starving to do ministry I gladly accepted.
That weekend was powerfull, I preached and felt like I could be myself. I had a great response from the men and began seeing an opportunity for me to provide some help at Sandals in the area of evangelism and outreach. So I went to Pastor Tom at the Grove and informed him of my idea to provide help to Sandals Church. He was in full support.
I then went to Matt and gave him the idea. He was very happy to hear of my desire to come on board and began working on getting me there. I began attending Sandals doing outreach ministry. When I got there they had no outreach ministries, so I started a street team, Homless ministry, events team, Baptisms, follow up, blue card accepting Christs, pasos (mexico missions) ect.. all these minstries are now oversaw by full time staff members.
In the fall of 2005 I broke my neck riding motorcross and began a year of living hell. At the same time I was helping Heather Veitch advance as an evangelist and trying to oversee J.c.'s girls. This was an impossibility for me in a hospital bed so I had to release control of jc's girls to Matt. It was hard for me to do because I cared so much about the mission, but there was so much I couldn't contribute.
In the middle of all this, I got hit with the worst case of anxiety and depression imaginable. These were very dark times and I began really seeking the Lord. I went to my partner willy and said "we need to seek the Lord on what he wants to do in the future", Willy has been with me since the beginning along with joey, and Willy said " lets get back to the heart of worship. We will meet every Wednesday for prayer and Bible study". This is were the vision for 777 started.
Threw all of this I believe 100% that the vision for 777 is meant to grow beyond the boundaries of a small ministry in a local church. I have always felt called to be a Senior pastor. I want to see 777 church's grow across the world. Our mission is to "reach and teach the unreligious how to keep it real with themselves, others, and God.

All this to say that this current move is just a small part of a bigger picture. I have been truly honored to serve at Sandals Church. Matt Brown is truly a great guy. He's a man of faith and loves people. I sat back at my last Sandals Service on Easter and I really feel good about my contribution to the church. When I arrived in 04' I counted three people with tattoo's in a congregation of 700. I watched almost 3,ooo people walk through the door on easter many who you could tell came from the world and many tattooed people..... heck even the sermon was on tattoo's. I feel that Riverside is well taken care of. I now turn my heart to San Bernardino County. A very dark place who needs Jesus. To keep up with whats going on with 777 Church just go to our web site @ 777church.com. Please keep praying for me and my family as we step out in faith. God bless you, T.J. 777

The old paths

THE OLD PATHS
I liked the old paths, when
Moms were at home.
Dads were at work.
Brothers went into the army.
And sisters got married BEFORE having children!

Crime did not pay;
Hard work did;
And people knew the difference.

Moms could cook;
Dads would work;
Children would behave..

Husbands were loving ;
Wives were supportive;
And child ren were polite.

Women wore the jewelry;
And Men wore the pants.
Women looked like ladies;
Men looked like gentlemen;
And children looked decent.

People loved the truth,
And hated a lie;
They came to church to get IN,
Not to get OUT!

Hymns sounded Godly;
Sermons sounded helpful;
Rejoicing sounded normal;
And crying sounded sincere.

Cursing was wicked;
Drinking was evil;
and divorce was unthinkable.

The flag was honored;
America was beautiful;
And God was welcome!

We read the Bible in public;
Prayed in school;
And preached from ho use to house
To be called an American was worth dying for;
To be called a Christian was worth living for;
To be called a traitor was a shame!

Sex was a personal word.
Homosexual was an unheard of word,
And abortion was an illegal word.

Preachers preached because they had a message;
And Christians rejoiced because they had the VICTORY!
Preachers preached from the Bible;
Singers sang from the heart;
And sinners turned to the Lord to be SAVED!

A new birth meant a new life;
Salvation meant a changed life;
Following Christ led to eternal life.

Being a preacher meant you proclaimed the word of God;
Being a deacon meant you would serve the Lord;
Being a Christian meant you would live for Jesus;
And being a sinner meant someone was praying for you!

Laws were based on the Bible;
Homes read the Bible;
And churches taught the Bible.

Preachers were more interested in new converts,
Than new clothes and new cars.
God was worshiped;
Christ was exalted;
and the Holy Spirit was respected.

Church was where you found Christians
on the Lord's day, rather than in the garden,
on the creek bank, on the golf course,
or being entertained somewhere else.

I still like the old paths the best !

A good 777 response

Just a quick note from my friend "prinzez" from myspace.... this is what she thought of our 777 gathering..

I also wanted to give a shout out to my myspace friend TJ 's 777 souls meeting this past weekend. Its a group of people keeping it real with God and others...I felt connected when I saw the message on his page, and I had to go find out in person...It was really very cool!! Very down to earth people :o) I also brought a friend who " doesn't like church" ( normally) but, she was impressed with 777. The message was timley, and she wants to go back. ME TOO! I could see and feel the people lovin Christ and each other, and it rocks!

proverbs 12:3

Proverbs 12:3 says "a man cannot be established through wickedness, but the righteous cannot be uprooted".

This passage clearly communicates that it is impossible to be established through wickedness.  If this is the case than why do we find it so hard to truly follow God?  Are we hell bent on never  being grounded? Do we like living an unfulfilled life being tossed back and forth?  Our focus seems to always be on the things of the world.  When we focus so heavily on the things of the world, we allow ourselves to be knocked around in our mind and emotions leaving us damaged inside.  Why can't we focus and trust God?  Does anyone even care to be righteous  in Christ and live for Him?

777 souls band

Thought I'd give you a picture of our worship band at 777.

Our missionary from Casa Blanca

I wanted to share an update from my Little Christian sister, "Darlene Rodgriquez". She is a missionary evangelist working in India at the moment. Darlene has a powerful testimony. Againts all odds she is really the first Christian in her family and God is using this little 5 foot mexican girl from Casa Blanca to reach out across the world. This is her news letter to me:

It is by His grace that I am here able to report of the glorious works of God in our midst!

I think everyday...Lord why me, what makes me so special to get to experience these great and wondorous things? Why me, that I get to get closer to You without distraction, and see the beautiful sight of others running into Your arms Daddy? And the only thing I hear is that verse that rings so clearly in my mind,
"God chose the foolish things of the world to confound the wise, God chose what was weak in the world to confound the strong." I Corinthians 1:27
I remember that I am no one special, and that He uses even me to bring light and life into a dark place!

Last week in Thiruvanamalai many great things happened! Each night we got to see hearts refreshed, lives turned from death to life, our team encouraged, strengthened, and more unified. This city is also known as temple city because the largest and oldest temple lies here for hindu worship. The temple's lay out is said to be almost identical to the lay out of the temple in the book of Ezekiel, and the mountain behind the hindu temple to resemble Mount Sinai! The spiritual battles were very intense. Many of us became sick, and were fighting off the heaviness of the spirits with headaches. But God be glorified, His work was not hindered! I remember going to this one house during village ministry and the entire family were hindus. One woman was asking us to pray healing for her as she was very sick. One of the guys shared the love of Jesus to them, and expressed the freedom in Him. Them decided to take down their idols and worship Jesus alone! The woman was prayed for and said that she was feeling better too! Praise God. I got to see victory in Jesus' name like this every night! And the fact that they decided this life was not on account of force, but merely by the love of Jesus alone!

This past week in Chennaimalai we did many village visits and open air outreaches. I was able to share the gospel of grace and peace to a village this past saturday. My first time doing open air in 3 1/2 years! And praise God for His word does not return void! Many people chose to follow Jesus, regardless of the persecution that happens in this village. The Hindu radcals in the area are well known for taking Christian nationals and doing them harm. On Saturday I was shown the tree that many of the Christians had been taken to to be tied down and beaten nearly to death by the radicals. Much of the persecution has died down, but that is also because so has the testifying of Jesus in that area. So please pray for the new Chrisitans and for those that live there. That they become rooted and grounded in God's love, and that no matter what may come they stand firm in Christ.

We leave Chennaimalai tomorrow for the "jungle city", as some of the Indians call it. Much of the same ministry will be happening, so please keep us in your prayers. Also we will get a wonderful break from the intense heat (90 degrees plus) and head into cooler temperatures.

I am not sure if I will be able to email until I get back to Bangalore, but know that I am praying for you all and not ceasing to pray God's love and power over you!

Living His life,
Darlene

SORRY no pictures again...Indian computers are not always teh most up to date!

sorry for the delay.... been spending a lot of time on myspace. here's my latest blog on myspace

After weeks of knock outs and submissions on demons, we finally got North Hollywood off the ground. Our 2nd co ed 777 chapter. We had a great time keeping it real with each other. We all had an opportunity to be honest about our lives and struggles and then truly connected with God. Our chapter consists of, from back to front. Holly, Mike, Lil G Jeff Gilbert (Kutless drummer) Geo (stunt man... pirates 3) Anneli (former hustler photographer) meeeeee. and Bagels.

since I posted this we have had a couple more added and seen lil G and bagels go back to Riverside. We now have Greg (ben stillers stunt double), jared chandler, Curtis johns, and pierre. Can't wait to see who comes this next week.

777 norwalk (big joe)

This is a report from my right hand man Joey Ybarbo. He started a 777 norwalk chapter with a group of non believing family members and led them all to Christ. He says,

T-
What's up?
I would like this photo and comments posted on the 777 WEB-site if possible.
These are the Norwalk "School of the Spirit" graduates!!!

From left to right: Manuel Rositas, Cruz Martinez, Deanna Ybarbo, Joe Ybarbo, Loretta Martinez, & Danny Martinez.

Manuel Rositas- Tried to walk out the first meeting because he was not sure if he wanted to commit to the group or not. He was unsure about following God and what that meant. He said that something (God) was prompting him to join the group- which he did. He stayed the full seven weeks and became one of the strongest and most eager group members.

Cruz Martinez- She is a student with a lot of wit. She is also a local teacher and an avid learner. Surrounded by false religions at her workplace and school, Cruz found out who the real God of this world is and that she could find peace and strength through Him. She is "quick to hear and slow to speak." God has demonstrated His power and love to her through her family.

Loretta Martinez- She is the one that got the ball rolling by opening up her home. She was anxious to learn about God and to keep the group going. After loss of some family members, she began to inquire of God for understanding in life and in her circumstances. Well, needless to say God answered her questions and brought a future hope to her heart and mind. She also cooked some sweet dinners!

Danny Martinez- What a heart! If anyone has reason to complain it is this guy. But he doesn't complain at all- he just keeps going. He lost most of his vision to a fishing accident years ago, but he still reads his bible. His bible has about a #18 font. It only contains the New Testament because it is too thick and too heavy to manage. Despite the text size, he still has to read it with a 5 X magnification glass. He completed all his assignments using this bible. He loves to read and study the Scriptures. He had several thought provoking questions and brought much joy to the group.

Outcome: Everyone lasted the full seven weeks of the Group. Groups lasted about 2 hrs ea. Everyone graduated from the Group. Everyone accepted Jesus Christ as their personal Lord and Savior on the fourth week. All members attended church with me at CC Montebello on the sixth week. Everyone continues to have a relationship with God, grow and go to Church. My friend Vince Valadez attends CC Montebello and has been involved with follow-up and encouragement.

Future: Looking forward to Baptizing them at Sandals Church soon. We will continue to study the Scriptures regularly just not as frequent. We are starting a new Group in Placentia with new members and God enthusiast. Pray for us!