This is Lori, Pastor Steven’s assistant, with a Furtick family update.

Baby Graham arrived today at 12:29pm and weighs 6 pounds, 6 ounces! We praise God for a healthy, beautiful baby boy. Mommy and Daddy are doing great! If you would like to send flowers or gifts, I know they would love restaurant gift cards so they can order-in as they settle at home with Graham, but please no visitors. Mommy and baby need to rest!

Here are a few pictures, more updates to come!

First of all, many thanks for the stacks and stacks of emails that have been pouring in to celebrate our one year blog birthday.
I can’t wait to take a few hours and read through them all one by one.

Honestly, the past few days have been a bit of a blur for me. As a leader, I have been stretched and strengthened in ways that have simultaneously supercharged me and sucked me dry.
I spent the last few days in Houston being trained by some of the most influential pastors in the nation, and I cried like a baby during the opening session as I realized that yet again, God is perfectly positioning me for the next stage of my development. The Lord is good.

I can sense irrefutably that God is preparing us to crash like a wave into another major season of blessing and growth within the next few months because of…

1. … the way God is equipping me.

God has been building me up in significant ways in the last several months.
T.D. Jakes says that you can tell what God is getting ready to build in your life by the kind of equipment He’s bringing around you. If God is bringing heavy duty bulldozers and cranes onto the jobsite, He’s not going to build a chicken coop.
If that’s accurate (and I believe it is), God’s drawing up blueprints for a sky scraper at Elevation.
In the last couple of weeks, God has brought connections and relationships into my life that I certainly don’t deserve. He is bringing people around me who are bigger, better, faster, and stronger than me, to help me learn and force me to grow. I’m grateful for that. Really grateful, and really humbled.

2. … the way God is pruning me.

As God has been building me up, He’s also been cutting back.
This part of preparation isn’t nearly as enjoyable, but it may be even more vital.
Jesus said that God prunes every branch that bears fruit so that it will bear even more fruit.

I like to bear fruit. I don’t like to get pruned. Too bad. You can’t have one without the other.
God always strips away something before He brings forth something else.
He always subtracts before He multiplies.

The last 6 weeks I have been in a pruning season. It’s very painful.
I have sustained some major losses (details aren’t important) that have left me seeing stars.
But I know it’s profitable. It’s fruitful. And I’m excited.
God is just about ready to load our vine with more fruit. In fact, it’s already beginning. 162 salvations on Sunday. A season called Dominate just around the corner that is going to turn heads all over the city. A new wave of leadership that God is raising up and bringing forth.

Does it feel like God is cutting back on you during this season of your life?
Watch out: He’s about to grow some freaking watermelons on your vine…
In your ministry, in your business, in your family, in your marriage… and beyond.

This line of thinking isn’t called self-help, it’s called Biblical hope.
Receive it today… in Jesus’ Name!

Tomorrow is a big day for the Furticks. Updates to come!

This is Lori, Pastor Steven’s assistant and he’s out of town today. The testimonies and stories of encouragement have been unbelievable! Please keep them coming. Send an email to Pastor Steven by clicking here.

Here’s a look at some of the life change…

My life has been blessed immensely by Pastor Furtick and Elevation church, but I have to say the biggest blessing hasn’t been to me, but to my sister. My family and I are eternally grateful for what this church has done in her life. She has given her life to Christ, been baptized and is now and active member of Elevation (she works in the nursery and attends small group). Those are things we’ve never imagined possible in her life as she has dealt with a lot of heavy blows in her life. But Elevation has deeply changed her, she is a different person and I can’t thank Pastor and the church enough for presenting the gospel in a way that was finally the RIGHT way to reach her and I’m sure many others in the Charlotte area. I am now happy as well to call Elevation my church home. God bless Pastor Furtick and each and every member of the staff and congregation. To God be the Glory!

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I have been a youth pastor for about 10 years now, but deep in the farthest corners of my heart I have been too scared. Too scared to try something too big, too out there, to out of my hands. For the last 6 or 7 months I have been reading your Blog and listening to your messages on I-tunes. The biggest thing that God has taught me is that NOTHING IS TOO BIG FOR HIM. In fact, maybe He is somewhat annoyed by how small I tend to make Him and His ministry. Thanks for challenging me to pray big, believe big and expect big.

(And I’m expecting gifts)

On this day in history just 365 days ago, a tiny blog was born into the world.
www.stevenfurtick.com has since grown into a robust, 5 day a week, mildly entertaining, occasionally controversial and hopefully inspiring blog read by way more people from way more places than I ever would have imagined.

Happy Birthday to me… and you’re invited to the party.

Would you do me a huge favor please? Every week my assistant brings me a stack of emails written by folks both within our church and all over the world, telling us how the ministry of Elevation has been a blessing. It’s the highlight of my week. The only problem is, I feel like an encouragement hog… because only I get to see them.

So here’s the plan:

If God has blessed you through the ministry of Elevation in the smallest way (you read the blog or watch the sermons and you’re encouraged by what God’s doing in Charlotte) or the biggest way (you gave your life to Christ at Elevation) or in any way in between, take a few minutes out of your day and let me know.

Send us a short testimony by clicking this link.

It doesn’t have to be poetic, or long, although it can be. Many of you reading this will think: “Well, I’m sure he doesn’t want/need to hear from me”… you’ll either assume that I already know or that I don’t care. But you’re wrong.
Whether you’re a pastor, staff member, business man, stay at home mom, student… we want to hear it all.
At Elevation, we measure success by the stories we hear.
And no encouragement is insignificant.

After we’ve received all the emails, I’m going to print them out and share them in various formats with the wonderful staff and volunteers at Elevation.
I may even share a few of them here. (Anonymously, of course.)
Please participate! You’ll never know how much it means to me.
Again, here’s the link, or you can send an email directly to amen@elevationchurch.org.

It’s been a heck of a year… Thanks for being along for the ride.