Below are messages I delivered to the congregation during the early transition period, before suspending Sunday Services to Prepare for Relaunch.  Files are PDF and MP3. 

When God spoke to me and said that survivng as a ministry was not enough, it was in the middle of a series called "The Growth Track".   That's the concept that found it's way into part II of the Growth Track Series.  At the time, no one knew what was really going on in my heart.

10-23-11 Surving or Thriving? Transcript

10-23-11 Surving or Thriving? Audio 

Before the official "We are shutting down Sunday Services" Announcement

11-20-12 Metamorphosis (We must change) Transcript

11-20-12  Metamorphosis (We must change)  Audio

12-4-11  Team Work

The official "We are shutting Down Sunday Services" Announcement

12 -18-11 Why we must say Good-Bye Transcript

12 -18-11 Why we must say Good-Bye Audio

After the "Announcement"

Vision casting and teaching I used to try to prepare people for the "Shut Down" which was coming on 2-5-12

1-8-12 Components of a Thriving Church Transcript

1-15-12 Awake 21 - Win the War in the Spirit (or quit now) Transcript

1-22-12 LAUNCH!  To the Moon and Back Transcript 

1-22-12 LAUNCH!  To the Moon and Back Audio

2-5-12 A Team Vs. A Congregation

A Family Church conducted its last service on Sunday 12/18/12. We encountered some obstacles in the past year that have made this change necessary. Nothing scandalous or tragic has happened. It's just that the economy created a model of ministry that for us was economically unsustainable.  Sometimes, you have to just start over; a fresh start. Sometimes a coat of paint and other surface improvements just are not enough. To paraphrase business guru Seth Godin’s “The Dip”, sometimes you have to know the difference between a dip and a cul-d-sac. No tears, it has been a good 9 ½ year run! AFC has done a lot of work in the community and I have been honored to be its shepherd. In fact, just in the past 2 years alone, over 50,000 volunteer service hours have been given to the Lord! AFC has been an amazing work and it’s passion for evangelism and community impact led the ministry to an average annual growth rate of 24% over the course of 9 years ,along with numerous recommendations, awards and appointments for its social programs, some of which are listed below:

“There are many people in our society that give of their time and talents, but some are shining examples for us all. Thank you for being one of these…thank you again for your dedication and service to our citizens, our communities and our state”

Jeb Bush, former Governor of the State Florida

“I am pleased to provide this letter of support for A Family Church…I encourage your consideration of this worthy cause”

Bill Nelson, State of Florida, U. S. Senator

“It is my pleasure to write a letter of support for the efforts of A Family Church. Through their efforts, A Family Church has already contributed hundreds of volunteer hours through mentoring at-risk youth in our schools…”

Jean Burroughs, Community and Education Specialist, Volusia County Schools

Although A Family Church will be retired, I have come to believe God is not done with me. There is still more vision – I have not accomplished what God commissioned me to do. I am not alone in my sense that there is still more work to be done. In fact, nearly 60 former members of A Family Church have banded together with me to form a launch team that will bring a new ministry to our area! My team will spend the next nine months in prayer and intensive preparation to birth Thrive Community Church, with a launch date of 9/9/12. In addition, we will spend our preparation time recruiting additional launch team members and fundraising. Our goal is to raise $85,000 by September. This money will go towards outreach, preparation and desperately needed updated equipment.

If you came to this site looking for A Family Church, please visit the Thrive website for updated contact information.

Blessings!

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¹⁸ And we all, who with unveiled faces …are being transformed into His image…

Little did I know how prophetic this verse would be!  You see, the Greek word in the original language for the word “Transformed” is where we get the word “metamorphosis”.  I learned in my High School biology class that metamorphosis does not simply mean change, but a complete break-down.  The caterpillar does not simply add a few wings to his existing body.  The caterpillar’s body breaks down to some type of jellified mess.  Body parts that once formed one part of the caterpillar may break down to form completely different parts on the emerging butterfly.  However, for any of this metamorphosis to take place, there has to be a cocoon (or chrysalis) stage.  So what does this have to do with A Family Church?  Everything!

Pastor Pete, along with a committed team of high quality people, have made a decision that the time to begin a transformation is now.  Our cornerstone verse is about to be fulfilled.   A Family Church, like the caterpillar, is undergoing a metamorphosis.   What does that mean exactly, you might ask?  It means we are entering our cocoon, which for us is a period of prayer, planning and preparation.  As such, our last church service held as “A Family Church” will be 12/18/11.  There will be a brief two week break and then beginning the new year (1/8/12), Pastor Pete and the amazing team (both from within & without A Family Church) will begin the formation of a new ministry, with a new name, new location new…., new….., new……  However, not EVERYTHING will be new!

There is something amazing about the caterpillar to butterfly metamorphosis.  Apparently, research has found that what a caterpillar learns, it remembers as a butterfly. Following the analogy, what will A Family Church “remember” when it emerges from its cocoon?   First of all, AFC has always had a passion for community impact:

• Recipient of  The Governor’s Point’s of Light Award
• Steering Committee Member of the State Wide Governor’s Faith Based Mentoring Initiative
• Board member of the Volusia County Substance Abuse Task Force
• Nominated as the United-Way Volunteer of the Year
• A ministry that gave just over 50,000 volunteer service hours over the past 2 years alone

You can rest assured, as the new ministry develops, it will have social services and community impact as a vital component.  Also, the passion for reaching the lost and their discipleship will definitely be a part of any future ministry.

Going back to our analogy, let me ask you, does the caterpillar die when it enters the cocoon?  The answer of course is “No”. Yet, I guess it really depends on what you are looking for.  If you are looking for a caterpillar only, you may miss the butterfly completely.  Similarly, in the future, if you are looking for “A Family Church” you will have a hard time finding it.  If, however, you are looking for an “out-side the four walls” ministry that focuses on impacting a community, we will be hard to miss!

That’s our story.  For now, what once was A Family Church, is being broken down and reassembled. Enough about us, what about you?  Are you looking to connect with a life-giving church that is passionate about developing thriving families?  Maybe  you're interested in joining the team of volunteers that are diligently working on what the new ministry will look like?  Possibly you believe in church planting and are interested in supporting a new church through prayer or a financial contribution?   Or maybe you just like the drama and want to follow along.  Whichever the case, you can join our mailing list by clicking the icon on the left and watch the metamorphosis unfold! 

Looking forward to hearing from you!

AFC is rebuilding! A Family Church has "gone underground" as we prepare for a re-launch (re-start).  Currently, launch team meetings are being held at the church offices, 1725 S. Nova rd, Suite N1 in South Daytona. Are you interested in getting involved in the formation of a life-giving church with a passion to make a measurable impact?  Interested in joining the team or simply finding out more?  Send us an This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or call 386-257-4020.

Many businesses & services re-launch throughout the course of their existence.  For example, Microsoft “Windows” re-launches every 2 to 3 years with (Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows 7).  Apple puts out a new & improved iphone every few years.  Surely you have seen “new & improved” on products throughout the grocery stores.  For us as a spiritual family, a re-launch gives us time to develop strategies that improve the overall quality of ministry, raise funds that will help us increase awareness in the community and transition us  from a church that is simply keeping its head above water to a church that is thriving!

We at A Family Church are thankful to be teamed with two great organizations to walk us through this process:

www.NextCoachingNetworks.com www.ARCChurches.com

Keep checking back for updates, follow us on Facebook or join our email list. Many blessings and see ya soon!

Pete Keirstead, LMHC

Pastor, A Family Church