My wife and I (Danny) recently returned from some time off. We traveled on a cruise to Canada! We had a great time and relaxed and ate much!

Thought I'd share some things I observed while on the cruise that I think can translate to church planting. I'd love to hear your opinion. Be sure to comment below!

1. Customer service - Customer service on cruise ships is phenominal. From when you first arrive, you're greeted and welcomed everywhere you turn. They really go out of their way to make you feel welcomed.

In church planting I think this would relate to how our greeting and hosting teams function. When people first step foot into your church or small group, do they feel welcomed? Or do they feel shunned and ignored? Is your church a club where only insiders are welcomed or do first time guests feel comfortable?

I think that if churches would do this better, it would lead a first time guest to being a regular attender that could invite more first time guests. So, how's your hospitality? Is your welcome/host/greeting team like the staff on a cruise ship or like the staff at your local DMV?

Look forward to hearing your ideas on the matter. Comment below! I'll post a few more blogs on church planting lessons from a cruise ship soon!

Thank you to everyone who has been praying for Swerve Church! Today, we're officially incorporated with Kings County as a non profit organization.

This is a huge milestone for us in the planting of a new life-giving church in Bushwick Brooklyn. This allows us now as well to receive donations to the ministry aiding us in the planting of Swerve Church.

We had a great time at the Swerve Church Launch Team BBQ at Irving Square Park! It was an evening of food, fun and friendship! We we able to discuss one of our core values which is that we will do anything short of sin to reach people far from God. We're making plans for our next outing! Stay posted! Be sure to sign up if you'd like to be a part of the launch team. Or contact us if you'd like some more info.

We had the great privilege to be able to serve alongside of one of New Jersey's fastest growing churches, Liquid Church! Honestly, it was one of the most memorable moments for everyone on the launch team as we were welcomed with much love.

Pastor Mike invited us to come to Liquid to glean off of everything they do as a church to serve the people of New Jersey at their three soon to be four campuses! Specifically, at their Nutley campus, they have two services on a Sunday at 9:30 and 11:30 am.

Our day began at 5:30 am which is when we arrived at the Nutley Campus which meets at John Walker Middle School. Shortly after, we were unloading a large van full of supplies that would be used for that day including bulletins, t-shirts, kids supplies and more. We then continued to roll around huge closets on wheels designed specifically for portable church ministry by PCI.

Inside of these cases was everything you needed to transform a school into a place suitable for an unbelievable experience where people can connect with God and others. From every instrument and sound cable to everything needed to create a fun and safe environment for kids of every age.

We had the privilege to be able to serve and be a part of some of the most important teams on Liquid Church. This includes the Roadies, Guest Connections and Liquid Kids teams.

The roadies team is the group of people that arrive at the location before the break of dawn to unload the trailers and set up everything for an incredible experience.

Guest Connections involves everything from greeting, ushering, writing name tags and welcoming first time guests with a smile and a free gift.

The Liquid Kids team is that great group of people who stay with the children while parents can freely worship and listen to a great Biblical teaching by Pastor Tim. While at Liquid Kids, the children have a great time playing games, singing and learning important lessons from the Bible.

After a long and rewarding day serving with Liquid, we were treated, along with all the volunteers, to Lil' Burgers for lunch! They really take care of their volunteers because Liquid acknowledges and recognizes the great and hard work each of the volunteers put in week in and week out!

We simply took away so much from this experience and we're gearing up to do it again this Sunday, August 11th! And we can't wait!

If you'd like to be a part of the Launch Team, please let us know. Email Danny, comment on this blog post, or head over to our Facebook page and let us know. Maybe you could join us this Sunday and get a good glimpse for yourself what we want to bring to Bushwick.

We're hosting our first ever BBQ. It's a great opportunity for anyone who may want to know more about the upcoming church plant or who may want to join the launch team.

This will be an opportunity to meet other launch team and potential launch team members. Pastor Danny will speak a little on his heart and vision for Swerve Church as well as have some time to answer any questions anyone may have!

If you want to know more about Swerve Church, or know someone who does, please except our invitation to the BBQ. Feel free to bring a favorite dish, dessert or beverage to share!