His Work

We are humbled to share with you a letter from a college student, left with us the last Sunday she was at Ignite before she moved away...

  "I would like to personally thank Ignite Church for the 

opportunity to join with you in worship.  Ignite has touched

my heart and has helped me through a very difficult time in 

my life.  Being able to feel so comfortable here has made me 

very excited.   Thank you for making me feel so welcome 

every Sunday.  May God continue to bless you."

                                                                                        

                                                        ~Carley 

Praise God for the work He is doing.  It's amazing to be part of this.

Winter 2011 Update - Worship at Ignite

(Hey everyone!  Two new update posts are out - and more to come! Make sure to read the following segment after you check out this one!) 

Wonder what it's like to worship at Ignite?  Turn up your volume and listen to this video! 

As soon as we knew God wanted us to plant a church we began praying for the provision of several things.  One, being talented musicians.  The group He has brought to Ignite is amazing.  We are so thankful for these guys (and now a few gals too!).  We just love them!  Many are blessed every Sunday by their hard work and commitment! 

Winter 2011 Update - A look at the Stats!

 

 Like to know numbers?  Here's some cool info copied from our facebook page...

 "Just crunched the numbers from our 'Fusion' series about faith in action. Here are the stats:

*300 People were at our BBQ in the Park on Sept. 10th

*112 People came to our Sept. 11th kick-off setting a new Sunday attendance record

*84 people was the average attendance through the series

*12 People made first-time decisions or re-commitments to Jesus

*4 People gave public testimonies in baptism

*65 volunteer hours were served in the community by our small groups

God is doing amazing things at Ignite Church and the best is yet to come!"

If you'd like to take a glimpse into our Fall Kick-Off and also get to know some of the faces of Ignite, (the Jaeger family is featured this month) check out this post as well as the one below!!  Both are new since our last update went out.

Getting the sound board ready for our event in the park

Some of the guys hanging out

A few of the grill masters

Getting the burgers started

Over 300 came and ate!

Mmmmmmm

A great day for a barbecue

Face painting was a hit!  Those ladies worked hard the whole night!

Jaxon and Justin

Getting in line for some food!

Colan and Angie

Fun on the swings

Enjoying the music

After eating many sat down to listen

Blake, Jordan, Steve, Zack, Tim and Tyler did a great job

Fosston friends - recognize these faces?

Gary and James

Wonderful people, great food, beautiful weather, awesome music.  It was a fantastic day!  What a way to kick off ministry this fall!

The Faces of Ignite #1

Hey everyone!  Thanks for stopping by here to catch up with us again.  Exciting things are continuing to happen at Ignite!  Something we want to start doing as part of every update is to share with you true stories about what God is doing in people's lives.  To kick things off, we'd like to introduce you to a wonderful family, the Jaegers.  Here is their story...

 

Hi. We’re Rick and Theresa Jaeger. We have 4 children; James is 15, Michael is 12,
Elizabeth is almost 3 and Andrew is 17 months. We had already been going to a church
but were not very happy there. Several times we had tried different churches but none of
them felt right. I think it was in March that we got a flier in the mail for the grand
opening of Ignite Church. Rick said he really thought we should try it out. He had
a “gut” feeling about it. Of course we all know it wasn’t a gut feeling, but a God feeling.
Unfortunately we had something going on at the other church that weekend and couldn’t
attend. We did make it, however, a couple weeks later. All of us felt an immediate
connection. For the first time, we tried a church and it felt right. We continued going off
and on for the first few months since our children were involved in Sunday School at the
other church. Once May came around and Sunday School was over we began going
exclusively to Ignite, or as Elizabeth had dubbed it “Loud Church”. J (When we were
still going back and forth she would get mad the weeks we didn’t go to Loud Church.)
We love the people, the music and of course the sermons. We feel we’ve found a home
and God has done amazing things in our family since. Both Rick and I had joined small
groups and are looking forward to fall when they resume again. Rick is a restaurant
manager and has very limited free time. But he found himself making sure he had the
time off to get to small group each week. Our older boys were very good about helping
out with the little ones so that I could go as well. James loves the services and looks
forward to church each week. I think when a 15 year old boy “wants” to go to church it
says a lot about that church. Michael has always had a heart for small children and has
found his place helping in the nursery. I’m looking forward to fall when things settle
down a bit and I can become more involved. Rick has gone to church by himself a
couple times when the kids and I have been gone. He had never before done that in our
entire marriage. When I commented to him about it, he said there was no other place
he’d rather be on Sunday morning. Both he and I have started reading our Bibles and
praying more regularly. Our individual growths in the Lord have brought our family
closer together. It has just amazed us to see the big and even small changes that God has
placed on our hearts and what those changes have done to each of us individually as well
as our whole family. Thank you for helping support Ignite Church so that lives can be
transformed for people like our family.
The Jaegers

Check it out! Ignite Church video clip...

Hey everyone!  Two new posts today!  Make sure to watch this short video clip to get a better glimpse into Ignite, and then check out the post below featuring our first baptism service!

                                             

 http://www.youtube.com/user/IgniteChurchMN

What's Happening at Ignite... June 2011

Hello friends!  We're still alive here in Moorhead!  Recently our family transitioned from renting an apartment to purchasing a home in town. This has been a blessing to us and a great way to feel even more committed to the wonderful people in the F/M area.  I think we're finally catching our breath again after our second move in 10 months, so it is high time we bring you an update!

Awesome things have been happening at Ignite Church... check it out...

We had our first baptism service this spring!  Four ladies shared how the have given their lives to Jesus and then demonstrated their commitment by being baptized!

Here's Mariah...

Mariana...

Andrea...

And Shana!

Congratulations ladies!  (Our next baptism is already being planned!)

We've had lots of other exciting things happening as well.  Our first run at sermon-based small groups has been going wonderfully.  The ladies began their group a couple months ago and have already concluded.  It was so fun to see women dig deeper into the sermon, as well as connect with other ladies they didn't know before.  By the end of 8 weeks the group chose and fulfilled a service project (reaching out to a single mom in the community).  It is a goal of ours to have each small group conclude this way.  The men's group is just getting underway, but already has been a very fruitful experience! 

There is much more to tell!  Be sure to check back in periodically for updates!

We've Launched!

Hello friends!  So much has happened since our last update!  We are pleased to announce that we had a wonderful launch Sunday on February 13th (which also happened to be Steve's 30th birthday!).   Below you will find some pictures and captions to give a glimpse of what Sundays at Ignite Church are like.  We would love to be in your prayers - you can find our prayer requests and praises on the left side of this blog.

(Big thanks to Shelby for most of these pictures!  You're great!)

 On launch day our set up crew was happy to have great weather for unloading the trailer at 7:00 am.  The mercury climbed to the mid forties that day.  (What a blessing!  We were so thankful!) 

 Yes, we are meeting in screen 2!  For those who may not have heard, we found a great place to have worship services on Sunday mornings.  We are meeting in a movie theater that comes with many important amenities; huge parking lot, good location just off hwy 94, roomy foyer area, the use of any screens in the building we'd like, space to accommodate numerical growth, areas for children's ministry, plenty of bathrooms, built-in serving area for our coffee and donuts... and we don't have to haul in chairs!

As I mentioned, set up each Sunday begins at 7:00 am.  We have a great bunch of men who rise early to help unload our trailer and set up equipment in the theater for worship at 10:00. 

We've been exited to see new faces at church each week, with an average attendance of 58!

Eddie helps with our sound and does a great job.

Here's Tyler playing keyboard.  The worship team does a great job and is a tremendous answer to our prayers! We hoped for at least one gifted musician... what a blessing to have a whole team of talented people!

Steve Hinman is the worship leader at Ignite.  (Ironically, Steve is related to all the Hansons back in Fosston! We didn't know this when we first met him last fall!)

Tim plays guitar and also does a great job leading when Steve H. is gone.

Newest member of the band, Blake, on right sings and plays bass.

 

Praying before the service.

 Erek and Anna, two of our awesome hospitality team.  You can usually find them helping serve coffee.

Speaking of coffee... our restaurant-grade brewer and grinder turns out some great stuff!

This photo doesn't do our nursery area justice.  Samantha has done a terrific job transforming an area in the theater into a safe, clean, fun, God-focused area for the littlest Igniters!

Kiddos four years through third grade are dismissed after worship time to come to Children's church with me.  :)   After hours reviewing many great curriculums and getting feedback from others, Steve and I decided to use "Children Desiring God".  We are already pleased with that decision and enjoy seeing what the kids learn each week!

Pastor Steve... loving that we have launched and now are at the point where he can preach every week!

 "The Huddle" has been a big success!  Each Sunday after the service ends, Steve invites men age 16 and up to join him at the front of the room.  In America, men are three times less likely than women to attend and engage in church.  Ignite is proactively aiming to close that gap.  With "The Huddle" they are challenged to step into the purposes of God in a way that engages a man's heart and mind.

So many of you have played a part in the birth of Ignite Church.  We are so humbled and thankful that you have invested your finances and prayers in this new work of God!  

 Check back here in about a month for our next update!




 

AHHHHHHHHHH!

This is it folks!  After almost seven years in the making, this Sunday marks the launch of Ignite Church!  We are very excited!  Please join us in prayer that God would be glorified!!  (More prayer requests and praises can be found at the left hand side of this blog.  Thank you!)  

"ING" ...Ignite Church Style

Anticipating:  Our launch day, February 13th, of course!
Hauling (every week): Lots of cords, speakers, a projector, sound board, music stands, crayons, papers, snacks, toys, Bibles, rugs, changing station, play-dough, sippy cups, muffins, plates, cups, coffee makers...and more!
Drinking: Great, fair-trade coffee when we are together Sunday mornings!  There's enough for everyone!
Debating: Should we splurge on tables and chairs for Sunday School (which are very expensive, but are also very nice to have) or should we settle for sitting on area rugs on the floor for a while (not quite as nice, but would give more financial flexibility to buy other things we need.)  
Listening (every week):  To an wonderful worship team!
Watching:  God at work in awesome ways, even in the stressful, busy, final days before launch.
Finishing: Buying lighting, baby gates, nursery flooring, and a new hitch for our trailer (which got smashed by a snow plow last weekend!)
Enjoying: Watching the launch team use their many and various gifts to serve on Sunday mornings.
Feeling: So tired a nap sounds good almost all of the time, so full of anticipation we could almost throw up, so thrilled to be part of something big God is doing that it makes us want to shout and dance and fall down at His feet in worship.
Trying: To find a balance in our days which allows us to do all kinds of last-minute work, yet also allows moments to do necessary life stuff (like doing the laundry and dishes and taking out the garbage!)
Mailing: About 20,000 post card invitations to people in the area this week!
Learning: In a word, faithfulness.  That we need to be faithful to the vision God has given us even in these grueling days of anticipation.  And that He is ALWAYS faithful to never leave or forsake us.
Praying:  That many will come to the launch of Ignite Church, that hearts and lives will be transformed by God's grace, that we will have an appropriate amount of helpers, and that we will have wisdom and humility through it all.  We would so appreciate your prayers as well!


... here's a little peak...

 

 ...worship...

 ...coffee...

 ...greeters...

 ...kids...

...message...   :o)