Even though we originally began in Osage Beach, most of our attendees came from the west side.  Since restarting the church in Greenview we have enjoyed meeting new neighbors and making new friends. We have a vision for growing a great church that reaches and helps many people on the west side of the lake.  We are a casual, non-traditional church using new methods, music and technology to present and introduce more people to Jesus Christ.  We offer a no-pressure environment where people can learn about God and the Bible.

We invite you to join us and discover what you’ve been missing!

Lake Hills Community Church is a member of the Lake of the Ozarks West Chamber of Commerce and the Westlake Ministerial Alliance.

Your question may be the same as mine was: “Palm Sunday? Huh? What’s that?”  There are many people, non-Christians and Christians alike, who wonder about the meaning and significance of Palm Sunday.  I grew up in a church where there was virtually no emphasis or teaching about it.  I thought it was just some ancient, irrelevant ritual reserved for church guys wearing funky robes.

Palm Sunday is the Sunday before Easter.  It commemorates the “Triumphal Entry” of Jesus into Jerusalem.  Often referred to as “Passion Sunday”, it marks the beginning of Holy Week, the week of Jesus’ betrayal, trial, death, burial and resurrection, concluding on Easter.

Jesus was going to Jerusalem to celebrate one of their great feasts.  When he entered Jerusalem, he was riding on a donkey.  Crowds there greeted him by waving palm branches and by covering his path with garments and palm branches.  Palm branches and the donkey were traditional symbols of a king entering a city in peace.  It was a grand acknowledgment of Jesus as the coming King and Savior foretold in scripture.

Have you ever seen people waving flags? At times we wave flags, banners, or streamers in celebration.  The palm branches were used like we use these things today. They were a symbol of triumph and victory and were used in times of great celebration. The people were celebrating, shouting to Jesus, “Hosanna, blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord.” They also placed palm branches on the ground before him. They were using them to celebrate the coming of the King that God had promised them hundreds of years before.  The people shouted, “Hosanna” which means “God saves” or “God save us”.  The word “Hosanna” is used often in the singing and worship on Palm Sunday as people today continue to acknowledge Jesus as their Savior and King.

Immediately following this great time of celebration in the ministry of Jesus, he begins his journey to the cross.  On the following Friday, known as “Good Friday” he was crucified, suffering a brutal death.  Jesus, as God who came in the flesh, died willingly paying the blood price on our behalf to satisfy eternal judgment against us for sin.  On the Sunday after, which we call Easter, he was resurrected from the dead and ascended to Heaven.

The biblical account of Palm Sunday can be found in Matthew 21:1-11,  Mark 11:1-11,  Luke 19:28-44;  and John 12:12-19.

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Starting a brand new church like Lake Hills requires the church planter (a term referring to one who starts a new church) to learn to “see” or “envision” the church as God would have it to be.  Some people say this must come to the church planter supernaturally and others say it comes through the scripture.  I personally don’t see these two as being mutually exclusive!  From wherever the inspiration may come, one thing is certain: God must be the author.  After all, Jesus did say, “…I will build My church, and all the powers of hell will not conquer it.” (Matthew 16:18 NLT)

The following was written recently by David Kendall, one of the world leaders in the Free Methodist Church with whom we are associated.

“I envision a church that reclaims our design and destiny as created in God’s image and participates in God’s plan to reclaim, restore or recreate all that is.  I envision a church that reflects the beauty of that image in the person of Christ, and that God empowers by his Spirit to carry on the very ministries of Christ.  I envision a church that follows Jesus Christ to the people, to all the people, in such desperate need, a church that finds a way to speak and act to address and eliminate the siege [of. poverty, wars, diseases, ethnic hatred and terrorism]. I envision a church that understands the call to holiness and to make disciples in just these terms because that is most consistent with the clearest picture God gives us of what God has planned—the person of Jesus himself.”

“Such a church will step up, meet the challenges of the present moment, and give the world cause to wonder whether the message we preach isn’t good after all!”  (You can read the entire article here.)

I envision Lake Hills Community Church to become such a church by the grace of God — a church modeled after the person of Jesus himself.

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What is church planting? I get asked this question from time to time.  “Church planting” is a phrase sometimes used to describe starting a brand new church.  There are many different ways to go about this, but this is a brief overview of our own church plant here at Lake Hills.

Given our specific location, financing, and some other considerations, we have chosen the “planting” mode for starting a church.  Much like planting anything else this begins very small, invisible and underground, eventually becoming visible and growing over time.

My wife, Cathy, and I moved to the area less than one year ago.  When we filed the non-profit corporation papers with the state of Missouri there was just the two of us.  Now there are about a dozen of us involved with the new church, not unlike a small flower poking up through the ground in early spring.

Admittedly, this takes a fair amount of patience.  I’m can sometimes be like a little kid who plants a tree and goes back to look at it every few hours, wondering why it isn’t growing faster!  Let me just say that the old saying appears to be quite true: “A watched pot never boils.”  God in His wisdom sometimes gives us things to do things where we don’t see quick results or receive immediate gratification.  Here is one sharp little insight I’ve received in this process.  In God’s heart every single person counts; every individual is valuable; each person is appreciated. Having pastored in some larger churches, this insight alone is worth the experience.  It has intensified my appreciation of every person in our church.  May God help us who are pastors and church planters to value and appreciate every person in our life and ministry the way that He does.

1Corinthians 3:4-9: (4) For when one says, “I follow Paul,” and another, “I follow Apollos,” are you not mere men? (5) What, after all, is Apollos? And what is Paul? Only servants, through whom you came to believe—as the Lord has assigned to each his task. (6) I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God made it grow. (7) So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow. (8) The man who plants and the man who waters have one purpose, and each will be rewarded according to his own labor. (9) For we are God’s fellow workers; you are God’s field, God’s building.

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5 Questions to Help You Decide

Looking for a new church to attend can be an uncomfortable affair. As a pastor, I rarely get an opportunity to test-drive other churches. Our church recently took a short break while we began preparing to relocate. For practical reasons we began meeting on Saturdays, so my wife and I had the chance to experience searching for a church to attend. We found it very helpful in deciding what our church will be like as we had some good experiences and some, not so good. There will be other factors for you to consider in your search, but I hope the following 5 questions may be immensely useful.

1. Did you feel welcome?

Did you experience the church as seeming cliquish, or was there potential to get comfortable? I say potential here because it’s rather unusual to feel very comfortable on your first visit. If you like it well enough, you should go a second and third time. Here’s another way to frame this question — Did people seem to want you there or did they seem indifferent?

2. Was it relevant?

As a long-time Christian, the first area of relevance to check out is whether or not they use the Bible as the basis for their teaching. Believe it or not, there are churches where there is not a single reference given from the Bible. The Bible is incredibly relevant on big issues in your life. This leads to the next question of relevance. Was it helpful?

3. Did you find it “moving”?

Did the worship and the teaching help move you toward God? Was it engaging? Inspirational? If not, even though it may be comfortable, you face the very real danger of getting into a religious rut, simply going through religious motions, rather than experiencing a life-altering dynamic interaction with God.

4. Would attending that church help you to better know and follow Christ?

This is the million dollar question. You need to be in an environment where you will grow in your faith, coming to know God’s ways and His work in and around you. It’s one thing to simply “do the church thing”. It’s something entirely different to have a serious life-impacting faith in God.

Similar Helpful Articles

http://swerve.lifechurch.tv/2009/01/05/it-takes-all-kinds-of-churches/

http://www.scribd.com/doc/25123032/Why-Are-There-Different-Types-of-Christians-Article