With one down and three to go, we are excited to see the momentum these endeavors will create for us. Our last festival, The Raven, helped this non-denominational church in Chicago (one of the many labels we have) to draw the attention of Time Out Chicago (see article). What opportunities will these other festivals bring us?

We have four interns arriving this week to serve at these festivals and to continue to pray and promote Blockbuster Faith. What a privilege to have dedicated individuals helping us connect with new people and follow up with them.

But we can’t expect interns to carry the burden for us. As a community it’s critical that we engage with these festivals and put ourselves out there. With our unique photo survey booth and follow up system, we have an incredible opportunity to serve many people in this city who are on a spiritual journey and are looking to connect.

Get involved, this weekend, at the Summer on Southport Festival, 1-5pm or 5-9pm Saturday or Sunday.

Go ahead and sign up here.

The article appeared on page 6 of the current print edition, with an estimated 40,000+ circulation, and online here.

A couple of weeks back we were visited by Editor Jake Malooley, who approached us after the service for a personal interview about the series. After a phone interview that evening, the article appeared just a couple of weeks later.

As a church we couldn’t be happier with the tone, focus and placement of the review. This is the kind of publicity you can’t manufacture. This is simply an answer to prayer. A God opportunity. What a relevant connection between culture and the gospel.

Another unexpected element of the article was the bespoke artwork created by Mitch O’Connell which depicts Jesus at the last super, surrounded by stars from Blockbuster Faith movies. Jesus isn’t just a friend of sinners, he’s a friend of vegetarian vampires.

Read the review for yourself and post a comment. And don’t forget to check out Blockbuster Faith at Destination this Sunday.

Baptism is a step of obedience for all believers and follows faith. The word in the original greek means to submerge. Baptism does not save, but symbolizes death, burial and resurrection with Christ.

You may view the slideshow below and click through to view the album on Picasa.

If you would like to be baptized as a believer please indicate this on your communication card on Sunday mornings.

(email subscribers click here to view the slideshow)

Matthew 22:10 tells us that God loves a large crowd. It goes into detail to explain that God is planning a BIG event and he’s invited a lot of people to it. In fact, this event could be compared to the opening night of a blockbuster movie. There has been a lot of effort put into the preparation, advertising and promotion. This movie includes the best and brightest stars. There is a real buzz going on in the city. God has prepared an awesome theatre for the showing. The critics are calling this the most epic story of all time!

Unfortunately, although many have heard, many have given pretty lame reasons for not attending. In response, a commission has been given to the promoters: go out into the most populated areas and round people up! Find anyone you can — absolutely anyone! We must have a full house on opening night.

At Destination Church we have an incredible opportunity during the entirety of our Blockbuster Faith series to connect with a lot of new people. Here are some simple steps you can take:

1. Give a flyer to someone you think might be interested.
2. Tweet/Facebook some variation of this: I’m going to the premiere of Blockbuster Faith. Do you want to join me? http://BlockbusterFaith.com
3. Write a blog post so that your subscribers can read about it.
4. Put a stack of flyers in your cafe of choice (ask for permission).
5. Write a review here.
6. And, don’t forget to pray!

Unless you are someone who likes to go to the movies by yourself, why not bring a friend along? Don’t forget, for this teaching series, every week is a perfect week to invite someone!

If you are a regular or member at Destination Church, please sign up and help out.

For more info about all our summer plans check out this Chicago church booth page.

We’ll take several weeks to explore relevant themes from movies coming out this summer. This is a fantastic opportunity to give out invitations, especially to people who are new to Chicago, or who have been thinking about coming to church, but just haven’t taken that step yet. Each week will be a standalone message, because each week is a different movie, so it’s accessible to everyone, especially those who have an inconsistent schedule during the summer. Come for any message — any week!

Watch the promo video and find out which movies we are exploring.

Visit BlockbusterFaith.com

PS You can also help out at the booth we are running this weekend to pass out flyers for Blockbuster Faith (June 18-20). Sign up now.

This experience will help you understand Destination Churches culture, vision, values and give you an opportunity to help us build communities that are loyal to Jesus. The class is not a membership commitment in itself. It is an opportunity to find out more.

God has called and gifted each of us to play an active role in serving others. Growth happens best when we use our God given time and energy to benefit those God has placed around us. Membership is about becoming all that you can be in God and taking your role as a disciple more seriously.

Find out more and SIGN UP NOW >>>

If you are planning on visiting Destination Church for the first time please come the following Sunday June 13. We apologize for the inconvenience.

This Sunday we are moving our weekly gathering to join in with the Celebration Midwest conference in Central Missouri.

This is an annual event that Destination Church highly values and strives to have a significant representation at. If you are a member or regular please save the date for next year: June 3-5, 2011.

For more go here: http://destinationchurch.org/blog/celebration-midwest-2010/

We already have a couple of interns lined up for July 26th – August 22nd, 2010. However, we are actively pursuing 1-2 additional interns. We are primarily looking for people who are college age. This is technically a little late in the game to be recruiting, but there are always those who have their plans fall through or are still undecided about their summers.

You are a VITAL part of the recruitment process. If you are a member or regular of Destination please take 30 minutes do the following:

• Go through all your phone and Facebook contacts (or wherever you have most of your connections) and make a list of possible interns. Don’t forget to list leaders of other churches/ministries who might be able to help recruit on our behalf.
• Call these people and present an opportunity you have for them this summer at your church. That’s right — call them. An email/Facebook message would be insufficient for the importance of what we are asking.
• Let them know why you think they would be suited to this internship. (Make sure to read the description and watch the video)
• Ask them to pray about the opportunity and talk to their leaders.
• Send them a link to the online application and suggest that they go ahead and apply. The application process could provide a clearer confirmation if they they should do it or not. (The link is here: http://destinationchurch.org/get-involved/internships/summer-internship-2010/)

This summer is going to be a great adventure in faith! Let’s get recruiting.

Have we started Destination Church Chicago because it’s the cool thing to do? What is our motivation? What drives us and holds us together? What helps us maintain our focus on the mission of God and not get sidetracked? What is our history? How are we connected, encouraged and accountable? One simple word: Newfrontiers (ok, it’s really two words)!

Ed Stetzers blog recently commented that Newfrontiers was starting churches before it was trendy. As Destination Church continues to start more churches in Chicago, we do so because God has called us into an authentic ownership of His plans.

Watch this 4 minute video to learn about our exciting origins as a church. Visit this Sunday and experience it for yourself …