I’m often asked about Project Church. What we’re about. How we roll. What’s up with the name.   Here’s a brief summary about the DNA of Project Church.

THE PROJECT

God’s project is the renewal of all things and he has called us to join him! That’s the trajectory of Project Church: To Join God in His Mission in the World. We exist to fulfill the Great Commission (Matthew 28:18-20) by living out the Great Commandment (Matthew 22:37-40).

In other words, our calling is clear: Love God. Love People. Live Free. And our passion is to make disciples of Jesus and help start gospel-driven churches who do the same.

As we go, this is the operating system that guides every discussion we have, every decision we make, and every direction we take:

GUIDING PRINCIPLES

JESUS – All arrows point to Jesus
GOSPEL – Grace changes everything
STORY – Guided by the unfolding narrative of the scriptures
MEANING – Every life is significant in the Story of God
MOXIE – Make bold moves
HEART – People matter to God and they matter to us
MISSION – For the city, for the world, because of God
COMMUNITY – No one walks alone
AUTHENTICITY – Real with God, ourselves, and one another
IMAGINATION – Unleashing creativity, reflecting the Creator
PRAYER – Aligning our hearts and wills to God’s
SIMPLICITY – Clarity over complexity

DESIGN

Project Church is structured in a way that helps us focus on keeping the main thing the main thing.

This means we intentionally limit formal programs and instead focus on these three aspects of our church being the church. Each also serve as an entry point into our community and are equally significant.

Personal Relationships

• God, being a relational God, created us for relationships
• The Gospel travels on relational highways
• Our relational networks are our mission field
• Project Church all boils down to relationships

Missional Communities

• Beyond a small group into a genuine biblical community
• Journey together
• Care for one another
• Live out Rhythms

Weekly Gatherings

• Worship Jesus through teaching, music, prayer, & connecting.
• Celebrate God and recalibrate around his mission in the world.
• Designed with both explorers and followers of Christ in mind.

A project I’ve been working on for some time now is the Project Church website. Our previous one was pleasing to the eye, but quite inflexible in function.

There’s something about going through a process like this that helps you clarify what you’re about.

The fresh version of projectchurch.net has been enhanced to include the following:

- Media library (Link)
- A blog
- Simpler navigation
- Clean
- Intentionally image rich
- And a whole lot more information about our church

Some tweaks still need to be made but it’s time to get this baby out of the garage and onto the road.

What’s God calling me to do that I’m not doing?

Where can I find more pockets of time without eliminating my margin (and sanity)?

How can I be a more proactive husband?

Should I sign with a literary agent and publish traditionally or go a different route?

If I write it, will they read it?

How can Project Church best join God in his mission in the world?

What direction should I take thismustchange.org?

What memories can I create with my kids this summer?

Who can I trust and count on?

What if every Christian embraced the reality they are ministers and missionaries of the gospel?

Should we coordinate a killer relationship & marriage event for our community?

Where does Rapid City hurt?

What am I running to for comfort, security, and identity other than God?

Am I overthinking everything?

What do I need to stop doing, keep doing, and start doing?

Imagine if we could truly comprehend the magnificence of these words.

Colossians 1:15-20

(ESV)

He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent. For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross.

(The Message)

We look at this Son and see the God who cannot be seen. We look at this Son and see God’s original purpose in everything created. For everything, absolutely everything, above and below, visible and invisible, rank after rank after rank of angels—everything got started in him and finds its purpose in him. He was there before any of it came into existence and holds it all together right up to this moment. And when it comes to the church, he organizes and holds it together, like a head does a body.

He was supreme in the beginning and—leading the resurrection parade—he is supreme in the end. From beginning to end he’s there, towering far above everything, everyone. So spacious is he, so roomy, that everything of God finds its proper place in him without crowding. Not only that, but all the broken and dislocated pieces of the universe—people and things, animals and atoms—get properly fixed and fit together in vibrant harmonies, all because of his death, his blood that poured down from the cross.

I can’t wait to explore this marvelous passage with my friends at Project Church on Easter Sunday!

At Project Church, we hold a monthly event called Beer & Bible.  In short, it’s a casual conversation where folks inside and outside our church can connect and discuss current hot topics and theology around a frosty beverage.

I’ve received a number of emails from people wanting to do something similar where they live and I’m often asked what this time looks like.

Here is a simple guide to help those wanting to start a Beer & Bible in their cities.

Know
Know where you (and your church) stand as it relates to alcohol.  If you want to learn more about what the scriptures teach on alcohol, I recommend three books: God Gave Wine (Gentry), Drinking with Calvin and Luther! (West), and The Radical Reformission (Driscoll).

Here’s a brief blog post on where I stand in terms of Christians drinking alcohol.

Plan
Choose a regularly time and location.  Visit pubs and bars and see which is in the best location and is best suited for discussion.  If possible, get tables near the entrance so people can find you.

Invite
Invite your friends and encourage them to invite their friends. Social networking works great to get the word out.

Guidelines
We have just a few groundrules to guide our time.
1)  Keep it real (Honesty reigns)
2)  Keep it cordial (Respect one another’s opinions / Don’t be a jerk)
3)  Control your drinking  (Don’t get hammered)

Format
Here’s what our typical time looks like:

1. Open in prayer
2. Have one big question to explore related to culture, theology, whatever.
3. Allow anyone and everyone to give their take on that topic. This might go on for a bit.
4. After everyone’s given their thoughts on the topic, we have one passage of scripture that relates to the topic at hand.
5. Someone reads it outloud.
6. Then we ask this question: In light of what this passage says, how would you answer the one big question?
7. Allow time for robust dialogue and questions.
8. Let the conversation flow and people to have natural conversations as you end your time.

If the group gets too big, just split them up.  We tend to keep it to 6-12 people per discussion group.

Why Do This?
The idea is to allow people to think through life, culture, theology, etc. through a biblical lens. Sometimes people will answer the one big question with opinions. Then, as we look at the scriptures, we sometimes see that the Bible contradicts us (that’s a good thing), and we learn to live in light of what the scriptures say.

Also, understand that people are coming from different places. Some don’t believe. Some are exploring. Some are trying to live out what they believe.  Let this be a safe zone to doubt and ask questions.

Resources
To help you out, here is a graphic I created for Beer & Bible in png format. Below is an example of how we use it.

Download: Beer & Bible graphic (png)

(Note: It’s a take it or leave it sort of thing. Due to time constraints, I’m unable to provide other sizes, formats, etc. Thanks for understanding.)

In closing, remember 1 Corinthians 10:31: “So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.”

Enjoy!

Since this Sunday is Valentine’s Day, we at Project Church thought it would be a prime opportunity to talk about topics related to relationships and romance.

We’re asking folks to submit questions related to singleness, dating, marriage, sex, divorce, etc. It might be something they’ve always wanted to know or help for a particular issue they’re dealing with.  As always, we’ll look to the scriptures to guide us and remember the gospel always.

Due to the sensitivity of the potential topics, we’ve created an online form where questions can be asked anonymously ahead of time.  Deadline for questions is 9am MST on Saturday, February 13.

The questions we’ve received so far indicate this will be quite the adventure. My prayer is that it will be one of the most powerful times we’ve ever had at Project Church here in Rapid City, SD.

We showed this classic video from The Hoff prior to my message at Project Church. It will change your life!!! Okay, maybe it won’t change your life but it does make for a good laugh.

After watching it, you can give the podcast on freedom a listen.

The quest for freedom burns within all of us. We long for liberty and seek freedom in many forms: religion, relationships, vocations, entertainment, possessions, and more. All of which leave us wanting.

Yet Jesus proclaims in John 8:36, “If the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.”

The Christian life is to be a free life but what does it mean to live free? How does the gospel change everything? That’s what Project Church is exploring as we look at Paul’s letter of liberty- Galatians.

I’ve been looking forward to teaching this for quite some time.  I pray our church and podcast listeners will be drenched in the gospel of grace over the next several months and our lives will reflect the freedom we have.

This week, I announced that from here on out, Project Church is giving away half our budget to end human trafficking & sex slavery globally, serve the poor locally, and help start churches who share our DNA.

I’ve been told this is a crazy thing for a new church to do.

After all, we have so many needs ourselves.

“Why not wait until you’re more established?” some may ask.

But you know…we’ll always have needs.

If we were ever going to make a bold move like this, we wanted to do it while the cement was still wet in our new church plant.

And as our influence grows, so will our impact.

My prayer is that sowing this seed of generosity into the fertile soil of our baby church today will produce much fruit tomorrow.

Our mission is clear: Love God. Love People. Live Free.

In light of this, we have committed to focus on three actions of social justice:

1. Being good news to the poor
In particular, in our local community.

We have a relationship with an elementary school that’s located in the heart of the most impoverished area of our city.  Our hope is to utilize this common ground to reach out to the students, families, and staff of this school and be good news to them in creative and loving ways.

2. Freedom for the enslaved
Freedom comes in many forms. So does slavery. We are committed to helping people live free in many ways however, one particular cause has broken our hearts and captured our imagination: human trafficking and sex slavery.  With two children sold every minute with an estimated 27 million souls crying out for freedom, we must do something!

Our church is going to partner with Love146.org. Their vision is the abolition of child sex slavery and exploitation. Nothing less.

That’s a fight worth fighting!

To work to that end, they provide aftercare for the children who have been trapped in this horrific industry as well as prevention programs to bring awareness to the issue.

3. Joining God in advancing the gospel
We believe the most effective way to do this is through starting fresh expressions of gospel-driven churches.

The gospel of grace found in Jesus is the greatest news to ever hit humanity.  Our love for him compels us to love others and join together in communities of faith to become more like Jesus.

There’s no greater cause than the gospel.

Giving half our offering away is a huge leap of faith for our church and we’re trusting that God will provide for all of our needs. Following him is one grand adventure and something tells me we’re just getting started.

In sharing this, please know this is not just a “Jason Salamun” thing, it is a “Project Church” thing.  I’m so thankful to be a part of a community who are willing to make bold moves for the Kingdom.

Please be in prayer for us.  We would greatly appreciate it.

If you are interested in investing in what Project Church is doing, click here to give securely via PayPal.

This past weekend, Project Church put on a great event called Santa’s Workshop at a local elementary school here in Rapid City. It was an amazing time!

The needs of the kids at this school is so big but you know what’s bigger?  The heart of our church.  I was so, so proud of them for pouring themselves out.  For bringing color to a world full of gray as we like to say. In all, 175 kids & adults participated in the festivities.  Many of us heard stories that both warmed our hearts and broke them.

I’m reminded that the church has legs to move and arms to hug.  That’s the kind of community that’s being formed in the wet cement of our new church plant.  All driven by hearts that are being changed by the gospel.  It’s something beautiful.

Here are some highlights from the event.