VBS + FPC = Life-change for everyone who experienced it!

To say that PandaMania was a success is the ultimate understatement.  If you’re confused, PandaMania was our Vacation Bible School event that was conducted at Forest Park Church last week.  We knew that we were going to have a great group of kids because of the record number of pre-registered kids but we were completely blown away by an attendance of more than 350 people each night with kids and volunteers.  Our Auditorium only seats 200 – do the math :o)

So, as I’m a dedicated student of leadership, here are my “take-aways” from leading this type of event:

1. Any event will only be as successful as volunteer buy-in.  If you want any project or event to be produced with passion and excellence, you – as leader – must understand how to empower your volunteer team to be as passionate and committed to pulling it off with excellence, as you are!  PandaMania was incredible because the volunteers believed it was an incredible.
2. There can NEVER be enough emphasis placed on organization.  I sometimes feel that my commitment to organizing everything can be over the top.  However, when you have almost 400 people crammed into a building that is not nearly large enough and you have children, ages 2 – 18, in every square inch of that space, you better be organized in order to keep everyone safe and your volunteers from losing their minds!
3. My leadership mantra has always been, “I’ll never ask you to do something that I haven’t done or that I’m not willing to do.”  It may seem simple to say something like this but if you’re not willing to live it, don’t even bother trying to lead.  Seriously, don’t do it to yourself or those that you’re asking to follow you.  Integrity is key and volunteers will only give you one chance to blow it.  If they see that they can’t trust you to jump in and serve alongside of them then why should they bother?  I will never lead from an “ivory tower” – I want to be exactly where YOU are, if you’re serving with me!

As many of you have seen on Facebook or on the Forest Park Church website (www.fplive.org) we are recruiting for a Director of Children’s Ministries.  As I walked away from this year’s VBS experience I was keenly aware that this would most likely be the last year for me and I’m okay with that!  I’m certain that God is preparing the perfect person to support the vision and passion of Forest Park Church and take our Children’s Ministries to the next level.  That person must ready to learn, teach, pray and LEAD!

Until next time,

Lana Neal

What are you up to this Summer?!?!

It’s been a couple of months since I’ve even had time to blog so I decided that it was time to jump back in since I’m entering my favorite season of the year:  Leading Forest Park Church’s Vacation Bible School experience and our 10^th trip to Guayaquil, Ecuador!

Just saying those two events in the same sentence is representative of HOURS of preparation and prayer.  My mind is always moving but today I’m feeling so in awe of what God has accomplished over the past 10 years of pastoring FPC and wanted to share some of what I’m thinking…

·         I’m so thankful that God has sent hundreds of volunteers to support our VBS experience and help us to build the faith of kids!  This year we have an all time high number of VBS volunteers – more than 150!  Scott and I were talking about the numerous families that have found us as a result of this one FPC ministry – was it yours?

·         Lisa Meads is one of my all-time heroes!  Lisa leads our Community and Global Outreach Team at FPC and is the person who handles all of the “behind the scenes” stuff that makes Ecuador happen each year.  Over the past 10 years you would not believe all of the ideas I have thrown her way about what I’d like to do and bring to Ecuador and she has done her very best to support my “madness” – including getting more than 500 pairs of shoes there this Summer!  I would never want to do ministry without Lisa.

·         Teri Phthisic is the most creative person I know!  With each new VBS curriculum I only send her an email detailing the theme and she turns FPC into a paradise for children that says, “You are valued!”  They are so important that for one Sunday of every year – it’s all about them – and Teri makes that happen, not me.

·         I love my boss!  Lois has supported my ministry at FPC over the past 7 years while also allowing me to thrive, professionally.  I couldn’t do it without her!

·         Ecuador has been forever impacted by Forest Park Church.  When you take a team into the same city each year, relationships are built that are lasting, effective and can change the course of a community.  I’m so thankful that our AMAZING Pastor, my sweet Scott, shared the vision 10 years ago for this local church to do just that:  create relationships that create change. 

·         I won’t be able to do Ecuador this Summer without acknowledging that our precious Charlie White will not be with us.  Ecuador changed him – made him aware of humanity in a new way.  I challenge each of my 108 missionaries to allow God to change you as it did our Charlie.  Let’s celebrate Ecuador in a new way as we remember that sweet man and love his sweet Holly because she will be right in the middle of Guayaquil with us!

Over the next 6 weeks I hope to blog weekly to keep you informed of what God is doing throughout FPC, throughout Ecuador and throughout the Neal family!  Te quiero :o)

Until next time,

Lana

I need to be BRAVE!

I’m astounded at where God is taking our church, Forest Park Church – that is :o).  www.fplive.org   Yes, we’ve had tremendous growth, people everywhere, no room anywhere and we are doing the proverbial “busting at the seams” thing, but that’s not what I’m talking about.  I am astounded at what God is doing in the hearts and lives of people!

27 of our volunteers and staff attended the Unleash Conference at NewSpring Church in Anderson, SC, last week.  I love this conference because it is PERFECT for volunteer staff as they have to take minimal time off work and it is an immensely challenging experience for a 1 – day.  Plus, being the overachievers that Scott and I are, we push to get there early so we can be one of the very few churches NewSpring allows into their student service so our gang can experience that, too!

As we got there “super early” on Thursday to find seats for everyone of our FPC gang to sit at the front of the 2500 seat auditorium that makes up the main auditorium of NewSpring Church, I found myself feeling so in awe of what God can actually do, when you trust.  That local church has grown from 70 to 11,000 in a little over 10 years - astounding – and they really can’t explain HOW it happened.  We, along with 3,000 other people, were attending the conference to hear a little of that story but the staff is very up front about the fact that they really don’t know HOW it happened.  However, what I took away from this Unleash Conference is the fact that we, FOREST PARK CHURCH, need to be brave.  We need to be brave to believe that God wants to impact Elizabeth City just as he impacted Anderson, SC, to create life change.  As God began to grow NewSpring, the leadership had to be brave to borrow money, expand and trust God to create more life change – it has happened!

I shared with a friend yesterday that I’m finding myself at a point in my life of ultimate frustration.  When I walk into the doors at FPC, I always think, “Where are we going to put all these people?  Is everyone going to find a seat today?  I hope no one is going to be standing!  Will there be enough seats back in Adventure Park today?  It goes on and on…”  As my sweet friend reminded me of how far God has brought us over the last few years and that He placed within Scott and me the vision that we have – it hit me WE NEED TO BE BRAVE…I need to be brave to believe that God will complete what He has begun in our ministry at Forest Park Church and it will be what He wants it to be!

At our Community Group last night we talked about what steps that we, individually, need to do, to begin to open our eyes to see hurting people.  As I sat there, listened to each of those people share, I realized that what God has done at FPC is absolutely astounding because lives have been changed.  We need space, we need bathrooms, we need a larger hallway and a bigger auditorium – I know all that – but God is really changing people.  That’s the win and I need to be brave to believe that this will be exactly what HE wants in HIS time.

When you pastor, really pastor, people – life change is all that matters.

Until next time,

Lana

Do you really trust your FRIENDS?

Friendship is a peculiar concept to people who are quite adept at handling life on their own – like me.  I mean, we know we need friends but we are so used to tackling situations, solo, that we forget to garner the support that friendship would afford us, if we would only take advantage of it.

Over the years, God has blessed my life with some AMAZING friends who have walked into my life for just a few months or some who have set up camp alongside of me and remained for years.  Regardless, we’ve shared treasured moments of conversation, love, tears – even disagreements.  However, all of those encounters are what makes real friends incapable of being lived without.  When I’ve been at my most vulnerable my friends have loved me enough to forget about their own issues, stop thinking about what’s happening in their lives and for a few short moments, I am the focus.  I can’t explain how important those times were for me because I have a very difficult time with that kind of vulnerability.  But when I know someone really loves me – I can do it.

At the same time, when I don’t feel completely accepted or valued – I can be guilty of “stiff-arming” or giving the “cold shoulder”.  It’s not because that I don’t like the person or don’t want to spend time with someone; it’s just because I don’t “trust” the relationship.  I don’t trust the person to be in the relationship for me – it’s for them and what they can get from me and that really hurts! 

Unfortunately, we do the same thing in our relationship/friendship with Christ.  Does that even make sense – not trusting the Creator of this world with my heart, my struggles, and my life?  No, it doesn’t make sense but we all do it because we struggle so vastly with TRUST.  Therefore, we tackle all that life has to throw at us independently - not even consulting His wisdom, expertise and compassion.  Just as a friend would be greatly wounded at our ignoring their presence in our lives, how much more so must be Christ?  I can sense that it breaks His heart because I know how much I hurt when I’m rejected by people I love so desperately, especially when I know that I could help if they would  only let me.

Just what I’m thinking today…busy, busy, busy day working out of town, away from my family and alone – independent of everyone but Him.  It’s always in those times when He reminds me of just how close He is - when I stop long enough to sense and know that He is near, on my lunch hour, of course :o)

Until next time,

Lana

What kind of "stuff" is in your car?

I keep trying to put this story out of my mind but it just keeps coming to me so I’m going to share it!

My husband and I were having dinner with some of our AMAZING Forest Park family and someone shared something that has had me laughing and thinking for almost 2 weeks.

The guy sharing just happens to be a police officer and he began to tell us of a traffic stop that he and his partner had conducted in the recent past.  They became aware of a driver who was moving the car quite irrationally which pointed to some type of chemical involvement – in other words, driving drunk or high!  So, of course, the police officers began pursuit of the car which ended up in the driver being so affected that they were drug from the vehicle.  The driver was so intoxicated that they really had no idea what was happening.  As the police officers were finishing their investigation they noticed that the person’s car was filled with Forest Park Church brochures, which horrified the officer.  After all, he had just arrested this person for being an unsafe driver, a possible threat to their own life, as well as, the lives of others.  So, the officer removed all of the FPC paraphernalia out of the car because he didn’t want FPC associated with someone who would drive in that condition.

As you can imagine, the group of us who was listening to this story was laughing, uncontrollably.  To hear all of the description of the event and the driver and then to find so much of our FPC “stuff” in the car – it was just hilarious. 

However, the more I thought about it, the more I was happy about the officer finding our FPC stuff in that person’s car.  Obviously, someone who was driving so intoxicated is obviously in need of serious help and to know that someone thought enough of this person to point them to us – I consider that an HONOR!  Our sweet police officer was just trying to protect us and our name but when it comes right down to where Jesus spent his days, it was with people just like this intoxicated driver who was so desperately in need of hope - and of Him.

So, if you find Forest Park Church stuff in places where you think no “church” stuff should ever be, we probably planted it there, on purpose.

Until next time,

Lana

The Charlie White Ecuador Scholarship!

I am still living on the excitement of our first Ecuador 2011 meeting that occurred this past Monday night at Forest Park Church!  We had tons of people in attendance and at the end of the night more than 100 people had made the commitment to be on board our 10^th Summer Outreach Trip from Elizabeth City, NC, to Guayaquil, Ecuador.  That is immensely humbling for Scott and me as our prayer when we began this adventure Ten years ago was a faith filled goal of 5 people, including us.  5 to 105:  WOW!

One of the special moments from this past Monday night was the announcement of the recipients of the Charlie White Scholarship.  For the past several years we have awarded a scholarship to one adult and one student and we had plans to do the same for 2011.  However, on August 20, 2010, Charlie White walked from this life on to his eternal life, after suffering an accident.  Last year was the first Ecuador experience for Charlie and Holly and they were forever changed, both individually and as a couple.  Charlie filmed last year’s trip for us, capturing so much of the excitement and passion that Scott and I feel for Ecuador and the beautiful people who live there.  He also caught the special moments that we share with one another as we are immersed in a world where the theme of the week is, “It’s not about me!”  After all the footage was compacted we ended with the most incredible piece of media to bring back to FPC – one that encompasses why we do what we do!  So, to honor Charlie and his beautiful wife, Holly, this year’s scholarship and everyone from here forward will be named after him.  It was beautiful – really, really hard but really, really beautiful!  The recipients were Dustin Williams: Student and Jamie Judge: Adult.  Dustin and Jamie, as well as, their families are immensely grateful for this honor!

I want to close with these words from Charlie’s blog, written on August 7, 2010, after he experienced Ecuador for the very first time:

“I'm finally going to attempt to describe the experiences that I was a part of in Ecuador. It has taken almost 3 weeks to unpack this experience. The most amazing thing is that I am still experiencing Ecuador now and it's not over so this writing is only valid in the moment. The trip to Ecuador was a wonderful revival for my soul and my mind. Away from all of our worldly distractions like phones, email, work, and chores at home I was able to focus on God and people. I saw beauty in people that I haven't seen before. When we get rid of distractions and work together for God and that's all you have to think about awesome things happen. It was a time for building relationships with God, the people of Ecuador, and our team. I can't say that Holly and I have ever experienced a week like this. It was a revival for our relationship as well. I saw so much new beauty in my wife. She showed God given strength, compassion for others, and an all trusting faith. She is my superhero.

I know that I am not there and I know that things are different here in our country but honestly I can see parts of my everyday life that are now suddenly filled with a supernatural beauty that didn't exist before Ecuador. Before the trip I was always on a mission to complete the task at hand and get to the next task. Now I see my tasks as being only part of the mission. The tasks are methods used by God to put us where He needs us so that we can be a part of something so much bigger and if we are only open to it we can experience some great moments. It's not about the work, it's about His work. Don't get me wrong I have not become lazy, I still work hard and do all I can to get the job done but I am more likely to pay attention to the people that have been placed around me because there is a reason that we have all been brought together in a particular moment in time even if I never know what it is I want to be sure that I keep my eyes on Him and not miss His purpose even in the smallest things.

To some people I'm sure this all sounds like I drank some kind of Kool Aid and even a year ago I would have said the same thing. Well I'll just let you know it ain't Kool Aid it's the milk shakes.”

I love you Charlie Watt White, Jr. and I’m taking good care of your sweet Holly!

Until next time,

Lana

Ever wondered what makes me tick?

Many people say to me, "How do you do everything you do, Lana?"  When they pose that question to me I really don't know how to respond because it is just the way I am!  I have lived my life full-steam ahead since I came out of my mom's womb, or so she says :o)  I've tried to embrace every opportunity and suck as much as I could get out of every life experience, whether it be wonderful or awful!

Tonight, I have the opportunity of visiting my parents as I'm traveling for a 2-day period with my job and their home is in the middle of the two locations.  While we were having dinner, my Mom told my Daddy that he needed to share his "good Samaritan" story with me.  He began to explain how yesterday at his church there appeared to be a homeless man that was walking around the perimeter of the church building.  When Daddy drove up, he noticed several people trying to talk with the man while he went on inside the church.  Once he was inside he inquired as to whom the man was and several people shared that the man seemed disoriented and wouldn't really speak to anyone.  He just walked and nodded his head.  Knowing my Daddy as I do, that really got to him and just as I thought, he went outside to speak to the man, himself.  He introduced himself to the man and someone else said to my Daddy, "This is Mr. Johnny."  Daddy asked Mr. Johnny if he wanted to come inside and enjoy church with him.  Mr. Johnny shook his head to indicate that he didn't want to do that, but Daddy began to explain that he would be welcome just as he was and that it didn't matter how he was dressed or what was going on in his life.  Mr. Johnny still resisted.  When Daddy assured him that he would sit with him and not leave him, Mr. Johnny finally consented to go inside. 

Daddy found a seat four or five rows from the front and asked Mr. Johnny if that would be an okay place to sit.  He nodded his head to indicate he accepted that seat.  When Daddy tried to take his walking stick, Mr. Johnny grabbed the stick, obviously uncomfortable with being separated from his only possession.  After sitting there a while Daddy began thinking about contacting someone who could come and pick up Mr. Johnny or getting him some appropriate assistance.  He decided to find his Pastor and share the story to let him know about Mr. Johnny.  As Daddy stood up he explained to Mr. Johnny that he was going to step away for a moment and asked if that would be okay.  Mr. Johnny was agitated and upset that Daddy would leave but Daddy asked him to hold his Bible for him until he returned and that settled him because he knew Daddy would come back for that.  As he relayed the scenario to his Pastor, he assured Daddy that he would take care of Mr. Johnny after the service.

As the Pastor began his message, he began by introducing a friend who was joining him for the day.  As he asked his friend to come to the platform Daddy began to watch Mr. Johnny stir and eventually stand up.  He made his way to the platform and began to remove his hat, his tattered coat and began to wipe the dirt from his face.  As Mr. Johnny began to speak everyone realized that Mr. Johnny was actually a member of the church and no one even recognized him.  The Pastor had asked him to participate in that exercise to see if anyone would really be willing to step out of their comfort zone and sincerely seek to make a difference in the life of someone who was different and didn't look just like everyone else sitting in the church.  I think it was BRILLIANT!  Of course, it was my Daddy who jumped up to the task.  Mr. Johnny (not his real name) thanked my Daddy for not giving up when he refused to come inside, initially.  He thanked Daddy for pushing through his resistance in order to really impact his life.

After we had cried a while over the sweet story, I said to my Daddy, "I am the way I am because of you - you know that, right?"  He just smiled and drank some more sweet tea :o)

It doesn't take a lot to make a difference in someone's life but it does take you making a move towards them.  At Forest Park Church you'll hear us say, "In order to reach the people no one is reaching, you've got to do the things no one else is doing."  I'm so glad that I'm my Daddy's girl and I learned so much about doing the things no one else is doing from him.  Stuff like this - makes me tick!

Until next time,
Lana