Pastor Kenny Land was in the house this past weekend wrapping up 2011 & ringing in 2012…a fitting way for our newest QCC Pastor to mark this milestone moment in a milestone year of our church. (Frankfort, I hope you were pumped to see your campus pastor going for it from the main stage in Lexington!)

I love having Kenny and Jess on board at Quest Frankfort. The passion God has placed in Kenny to be ALL IN is who God has hard-wired us to be as a community. It’s who He wired me to be…and I believe it’s how we’ll live out the plans and dreams God has for us individually and as a church. We’re meant to be people who live with audacious faith!

I tweeted this great verse yesterday…a verse I believe to my core:

No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has imagined what God has prepared for those who love Him. – 1 Corinthians 2:9

Get ready for our best year yet, Questers. Go ALL IN with Jesus. I can’t wait for what He’s got in store.

p.s. Here’s a glimpse of what Kenny had to say about this great community and his experience teaching this weekend…let’s follow his lead and go ALL IN in 2012!

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The saying goes “Time flies when you are having fun.” If that is true, then this has to have been the most fun I have ever had. It was just 7 months ago when Jess and I moved our family to Frankfort, KY. We had no idea what to expect when Jesus called us to be part of the Quest Community family. All we knew for sure was that He had our “yes” in advance.

Now, in retrospect, I see more clearly the gift he was offering us…

• I see the 72 lives that have been changed in Frankfort since May.
• I see more than 1,000 eternities forever altered in the U.S. alone.
• I see friends we have made that it seems like we have known forever.
• I see ministries exploding in Lexington and Frankfort that are transforming unconvinced people into whole-hearted followers of Jesus.
• I am living out Ephesians 3:20.

I would not have even known to ask Jesus for this beautiful community, and yet it was His plan all along. It makes me believe more for you and for the people I love than ever before.

As we near the year-end, I had a special message for every Quester. Click below to check it out!

Pastor Pete on Being Christmas Offering from Quest Community Church on Vimeo.

There is still time to make your gift count toward the Being Christmas Offering and our goal of $579,750! Together we are giving to fully resource the mission to serve the people of Lexington, Frankfort & beyond!

We can do this together! Here are 3 simple ways to give.

1. Worship Experience Giving 

Bring your gift to any of the weekend services (remember we have special times this weekend– see below!) and drop it in the offering.

2. Mailed In Giving 

Make sure it is postmarked today, December 31! Just send it to: 410 Sporting Court, Lexington, KY 40503

3. Online Giving 

Give online anytime using your debit or credit card. Click here to go to the giving page.

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Special Weekend Service Times this Weekend!
Dec 31 & Jan 1

Lexington Campus: Saturday at 5:55pm, Sunday 11:30am ONLY
Frankfort Campus: Sunday 11:30am ONLY

Find out more at www.questcommunity.com

I hope you had an amazing Christmas. My family and I had a rich time together celebrating and spending time with good friends. This really is one of my favorite times of the year…giving gifts, surprising my boys, living in the overflow of God’s unbelievable generosity to us, as He sent HIS boy to us 2000+ years ago.

I loved celebrating with Questers and our guests last Friday and Saturday in our seven Christmas Eve Services over two campuses! If you were one of our guests, please know that we were so honored that you joined us. There’s nothing like this remarkable community. Over 3600 people got to be encouraged with the truth that God is indeed with us…a reality that changes everything. And He will be our light…a light the darkness can never extinguish.

We were all reminded of His great love for us, 100s and 1000s were exposed to the truth of Christ, and dozens placed their trust in Him. The question I asked at all of our services rings out, where do you look for hope?

The only indestructible hope in the world is found in Christ! And His light has dawned.

Listen to my favorite new Christmas verse of the year, Luke 1:78-79…

“Because of God’s tender mercy, the morning light from heaven is about to break upon us, to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, and to guide us to the path of peace.”

How about THAT as a promise?

When the real world turns back on after Christmas, remember Jesus will guide you on the path of peace. For all who find themeselves in dark places…and for those who struggle in the shadows, the morning light of heaven is HERE. The encounter you had with Him at Christmas isn’t meant to stop there. He will always be a light in the darkness. And His peace can rule your hearts and minds always.

I love you, Quest. And I’m so grateful to be your pastor. Have an amazing time with family and friends this week, and draw close to the One who moved heaven and earth just to be with you!

A few random thoughts on this Friday afternoon…

1. I absolutely LOVE our church! This week I got to be a part of two Christmas celebrations…one for our leaders and one for our volunteers. As I spent time in those settings, I could not get the thought out of my head how much I love this community! You are remarkable people, and so many of you are living out God’s dreams for your life. I am so proud of you! Thank you for making this community what it is. You are an integral part of what God is doing here, Questers!

2. Being Christmas gifts are being delivered today! Pray for students in Lexington & Frankfort who are receiving the overflow of God’s love for them through your lavish generosity! Don’t you wish you could see their faces?! I can’t wait to hear the stories! Let’s finish this year’s Being Christmas initiatives with strength, giving generously and sacrificially and fully resourcing all of our ministries in Lexington. Go all out in giving back to the One who gave His life for you!

3. As my friend Steven Furtick wrote earlier this week, I want to challenge you to Be a  Bringer!!  Steven ripped off that phrase-be a bringer- from @KevinGerald. He uses it to remind his church of their responsibility to be witnesses for Christ. Not only should we invite people to come to church this Christmas – we should bring them with us. We should do whatever we can to compel them to come. We’ll be doing our very best to make Jesus crystal clear this weekend and over all of our Christmas Eve worship experiences…and when people see Jesus for who He really is, they want Him. Let’s be bringers this Christmas. Your invitation could make all the difference!

Extreme Unity… not a topic the enemy is thrilled to have discussed in the local church. Earlier this year Transformation Pastor Helen Musick taught on this topic and she was red-hot! While she spoke, a storm that felt like it could take out the city passed over QCC – it felt like a physical reality of what was happening in the spiritual world as God fought for this topic to ring out.

For 12+ years as a church, we’ve lived in a culture of redemption where from the beginning, unity was a non-negotiable.  I believe it is an essential ingredient in why more than 12,000 people in the U.S. alone have come to Christ in 12 years here. (And not with out a few storms here and there!) Unity is something we fight for because there is an enemy for fights against it, an enemy who knows and fears the power of unity. The enemy knows if we will be the answer to Jesus’ John 17 prayer, people see who He really is and why He came…they’ll see that the Father loves US as much as He loved His own boy! (UNREAL)

Need a little review?  Here’s some great questions Helen gave us when she taught on this topic. I hope they’ll help you see how you’re doing in this area:

Extreme unity actively works for unity and is marked by a love that is reckless and irrational.

Extreme unity lives without lines.

• What are the lines in my heart?
• Who is it that I find difficult to accept because they are different than me?
• Where are there lines in my heart that keep me from loving recklessly and irrationally?

Potential Action Steps: Seek to add value to everyone you meet today.

Extreme unity joyfully honors those that lead.

• Do I find myself critical because of my perceptions and preferences regarding some aspect of the church?
• Do I pray for those God has given the position of leadership?
• Do I joyfully honor those that lead me?

Potential Action Step: Write a letter or make a phone call to thank a leader in your life for building into you.

Extreme unity assumes the best and is quick to forgive.

• Do I take things personally and find myself easily offended?
• Am I able to love others by assuming the best of them?
• How quick am I at forgiving?

Potential Action Step: The next time you’re unsure of someone’s motives or you’re feeling offended, actively BELIEVE THE BEST.

Will you choose to be an answer to Jesus John 17 prayer?  If you do, you’ll find His love irresistible through you and to you!

After a day full of advancing meetings, concluding with one of my top highlights of every month — sitting down with the board of Quest Community Church to reflect on where God has taken us over the last months and look ahead to His plans for us in the future — I just had to take a few minutes to write a special blog.

Quest Community Church…it is such an honor to be your pastor. I am so grateful to God that He’s given me this privilege. I was completely undone by Pastor Appreciation Month. The cards, letters and expressions of gratitude where you just lavished me and thanked me blew me away. I was so grateful. You are so kind, everyone. I absolutely am the most fortunate pastor on the planet…I get to point people to Jesus, help them ask Him into their hearts, grow in Him and then we get to do this life together.

I love this church and I love this community. I’m so grateful for you all. Thank you.

And…thank you for the ways you showed your appreciation for all of your pastors on our staff. They are the best pastors in the world, so let me just give a shout out to them: Pastor Sharon, Pastor Justin, Pastor Helen, Pastor Dave, Pastor Jimmy, Pastor Kenny & Pastor Brad, I am so proud of you. You are the best Pastoral Team in the world. I know our church’s best days are out in front of us. Heaven has huge plans and I believe God is just beginning His work here…can’t you feel the tremors? I love you all and I’m so proud of you.

Thank you, everyone, for the ways you’ve gone all out in honor this past month. I’ve been so blessed by you. Thank you.

As FUSED gets ready for their retreat, THE CODE, this weekend…100s of them will be gathered in the chapel tonight, drawing close to God, exploring His plans and purposes for their lives and doing life in community.

Wonder how your church feels about your potential, students? Here’s a quick reminder:

Fused Answers The Challenge from Quest Community Church on Vimeo.

Your church believes in you. You have the potential to change the world…your leaders see it in you. I see it in you. Invite everyone you know to FUSED tonight. Keep investing in people who need to experience the love of God for themselves. Press into Jesus and live out the plans and dreams He has for you. Your church can’t wait to see what’s next for you.

We’re cheering you on!

WARNING: This blog has been hijacked on behalf of Quest Frankfort!

Quest Frankfort HAD to have their own post to say THANK YOU to Pastor Pete and honor him for leading this church that has changed our lives. We are so grateful!

Thank you for launching Quest Frankfort and making a way for 100s to come to know Him! The best is yet to come!

Thank You Pastor Pete from Frankfort from Brent on Vimeo.