Westside Podcast

The Next Generation Is Already Pulling Their Parents to Church — Here's What's Happening

• Westside Community Church

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What if the students in your community were the ones leading their families back to church? That's exactly what's happening at Westside — and it's not an accident. In this episode of Midweek Motivation, Jess sits down with Tim Wooten, a 30-year financial advisor, youth pastor, and son of Westside's founding pastor, to talk about what it really means to invest in the next generation — one kid, one conversation, and one sacrifice at a time.

Discover:

  • How Tim went from teenager in the youth group to leading it for over two decades
  • Why "stick and stay" is the most underrated strategy in ministry — and in life
  • The story of a student who wakes up at 3AM to make pizza dough so he can make it to church by 10:30
  • How dozens of students have brought their entire families to church — and why that's flipping the script on discipleship
  • What truth and love actually looks like when you're sitting across from a 15-year-old making hard decisions
  • Why legacy requires letting go — and what Tim's dad modeled by passing the torch
  • A real, honest conversation about sacrifice, finances, and why you probably can give more than you think

Reflection paragraph: Legacy isn't built in a moment — it's built in years of showing up, sticking around, and investing in people who don't yet know what they're capable of. Tim's story is a reminder that the voices playing in someone's head at the right moment came from a person who chose not to quit. Whether it's time, money, relationships, or leadership — the question isn't whether you can afford to invest. It's whether you can afford not to.

Key Takeaways:

  • Readers are leaders — invest in your own growth so you can pour into others
  • Stick and stay: trust and legacy are built over years, not months
  • The next generation is hungry for truth — biblical truth spoken in love changes lives
  • Legacy requires releasing control and training up the people around you to carry it forward
  • You cannot out-give God — that's not a slogan, it's a promise
  • Every sacrifice looks different — what matters is that it costs you something

Question for you to think about: Who invested in you — and who are you investing in right now?

Calls to Action: If this episode encouraged or challenged you, share it with someone who needs to hear it — and subscribe so you never miss a new episode. Drop a comment below: Who's a person who invested in you and helped shape who you are today?

Hashtags: #MidweekMotivation #WestsideCommunitychurch #YouthMinistry #NextGeneration #ChristianPodcast #Legacy #Discipleship #FaithInAction #InvestInOthers #ChristianLiving #StudentMinistry #GenerosityChallenge #YouCannotOutgiveGod #StickyFaith #ChurchGrowth

SPEAKER_01

We just get together in a classroom there after school hours. It's an after-school club. And by the way, these kids could be doing soccer club, basketball club, maybe basket weaving, I don't know. But doing stuff, right? We're doing all these different things. And these are kids, a classroom of kids have chosen to come to this Christian club and just talk about Jesus.

SPEAKER_00

Welcome to the Midweek Motivation Podcast, where we bring practical help for your faith and life. Here's today's episode.

SPEAKER_02

Hey guys, welcome to this week's Midweek Motivation. My name is Jess, and I've got an awesome guest here, Tim, who's joined us before, but I feel like it's a real special conversation this time around because we are we're just talking about investing in the future. Before we jump into that conversation, though, Tim, I'd love it if you would just share a little bit about yourself so that everyone who's watching knows who you are.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, um, so yeah, so my name's Tim Wooten. My dad is Pastor Kin. Uh we came to the church in 1975 when I was five years old. Um, fast forward by the time I was uh 19, I started taking over the youth group as I had been mentored by my youth pastors in the past, and did that for uh almost 11 years, um from 19 to 30. And uh in that process also um I'm married, I've got four kids. Um I'm an investment advisor, so I do financial planning. That's what I have done since uh 1996, so for 30 years. And I went back into student ministries in 2014, so I'll I've been doing that now another 12 years, so 11 years the first time, 12 years um this time around, and it's been awesome. So that's kind of my life in a nutshell.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah, cool. And I've gotten like the opportunity to have my kids grow up in uh like student ministry under you and work with you also in in student ministry for a time. So um yeah, I I'm really excited about this conversation because if I think about somebody in my life who has invested in me, like the the voices that you hear playing in your head, you know, when like it's just the right opportune moment or something, you know, I I think about people like you because I've got those voices for me. Um, but that those are the things that you're doing in kids' lives right now with student ministries specifically, but you also direct family like ministries in general, so you're also over the kids stuff, and so um I I'd love for you to share a little bit about those things for you, like who invested in you and and um helped you to get to where you are right now.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, so I mean I had uh two youth pastors when I was younger, um, Dave Martindale and Howard Cookson, and both of those guys um were mentors to me because again, I was in their youth group when I was a teenager, and um they uh invested in us and allowed us to run the youth group, if you will, and we got to be in charge, you know, as the teenagers. And uh it was a lot of fun to be able to do a lot of the uh running of events and just growth and you know outreach and all the fun stuff that um that they let it let us do. So my youth pastors were a big influence on me. Um obviously my dad was a massive uh influence for me since I was a kid, and um just I don't know if he was preparing me for the future, if he knew he was preparing me for the future or what, but uh he was definitely uh investing in me a lot, uh, took me on uh business trips that were church-related business trips to these churches that were running you know thousands and thousands of people and be able to see that with my own eyes and be like, wow, this is crazy and this is amazing. And and uh going to these conferences and hearing from these big-time you know pastors and youth pastors, if you will, and uh that was a lot of fun seeing that. So he invested a lot of that into me for that. Um, and then he taught me to read books and get into books, and he always said, readers are leaders, leaders are readers. And so I started reading every book on um uh leadership, you know, Developing the Leader Within Me by John Maxwell, developing the leaders around you, and everything John Maxwell had. I read every one of his books to develop my leadership skills. I read books on business, I read books on on youth ministry, on church growth, on outreach, on you name it. Um I read many books. If I if I was to pan the camera over at that bookshelf, I mean I'm looking at literally hundreds of books that are sitting on that shelf that I've read. You know, the founding of uh Amazon, the founding of McDonald's, the founding of just you name it. I mean, their books are there, and so I've invested a lot into reading, and that was my dad's influence. So those are my influences, my youth pastors, my dad, obviously, my mom being you know, my biggest cheerleader ever, um, and then reading books. So that's really you know where I've been influenced my life.

SPEAKER_02

Awesome. Do you it sounds like uh just from hearing you share a little bit about your influences that that they helped you find your um your gifting? Because I would look at you and I would say that you're gifted in leadership, but they that kind of like guided you and helped you to to figure out those things that you're good at and where you could actually have solid impact by maybe giving you opportunities that you wouldn't have had before.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, I mean, yes. I I I would say um I think you find your way eventually. Like I think you you try different things. Like maybe you're like, oh, do I want to work with kids? Do I want to work with adults? Do I want to work with uh recovery? I mean, what do I want to work with? What exactly do I want to do? Do I want to work with students? And you kind of just I don't know, you kind of like work with different um people and different things and try to figure out what is um what is that something that really lights your fire, I guess, and what makes you want to get up and and go and win. And and uh for me, having the influence that I had as a teenager, knowing that that's what helped me become the man that I became someday, I was attracted to the youth ministry for that reason because I was like, man, I was so you know, just having that influence and and having that redirect in my life, and and I really got passionate about it this next time around, even more than the first time, just because the world we live in now is just goofy and there's a lot of goofy stuff going on. And um, I love to be able to influence the kids from the biblical standpoint, from Jesus, and like you know, I know the world's telling you this, this, this, and that, but here's what the Bible says, and this is what's gonna supersede any of that stuff that we learn from TikTok or YouTube or our schools, it's gonna be the Bible. So that's kind of been my influence to go back to those things um because again, what it did for me when I was younger.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah, that's awesome. I've actually I've watched you do do this, I've watched you build relationships with these students and to get to a point where they trust your word and they know that you're rooting for them and cheering them on, and so you can speak truth to them and you can be like, hey man, like like like this is direction is not going to be great for you. What does the Bible say? And and so you're really incredible about this, and it takes time really to to build those relationships, I think.

SPEAKER_01

So it does take time, and that's partly why we're having the success that we have um at West Side. I mean, we have a really good-sized youth group for the size of our church, is a really good-sized youth group, and a lot of that goes back to not because of just I'm this great guy, it's I've stuck and stayed and made it pay, as my dad has also always said, is you gotta stick and stay. And a lot of people they get involved and they they they quit. And and I I don't know what the exact number is, but I know the average youth pastor lasts like a year and a half to three years and they're out. And so all these churches have youth pastor after youth pastor after youth pastor, and they're not building any trust because they're there, gone. Next one, there, gone, next one, there, gone. I've been here 12 years, so and the cool thing is being a youth pastor in the 1990s, those parents that were in my youth group as teenagers are now bringing their kids to the youth group, which is really crazy to see. Like, wow, like your mom and dad was in my youth group, and now you're in my youth group. And so, yeah, so it builds trust, but sticking and staying and not quitting absolutely me. So many people they get involved in anything and everything, and they they don't last because they quit, they're always looking for the next shiny thing. And for me, it was just like two things in my life, which is outside of my family being very important to me, you know, youth ministry, super important, locked in, not quitting. I mean, in fact, the only thing that's ever gonna slow me down ever at some point in time is I'm not getting any younger, you know. I'm I'm 56 years old now, but I have no plans of quitting right now. I have zero plans, like I I'm not ready. Um, and then of course, being an investment guy and dealing with money and financial plans for people, I mean, those are two things that really kind of light me up. And I just got involved in both of them and just stuck with it. And even though both have ups and downs over the last so many years, you just stick and stay and uh you build trust with people.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah, yeah. So, so again, I said that I've I've watched you do this. Uh like you're sticking it the the stick and stay, that's huge. I'm filing that in into the back of my head for sure, but but you show up with these kids, like you go to their their games and their uh like choir events and and all that kind of stuff. So I'm curious if you have like a picture in your head of a kid that you've gotten really to invest in. Um, and it if you could share like where, like maybe where they were and where they are and where you see them headed.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, easy, easy. Uh, but first things, before I answer that question, um, I gotta give a shout out to all my shepherds. I mean, we have a plethora of shepherds that are, you know, grade related, and whether they're boy or girl, so girls got the girls, boys got the boys, and these shepherds are doing things like, hey, let's go work out. Um, hey, I'll come to your play, I'm gonna pop in on your game, um, let's go grab coffee, let's have a Bible study. And so I have all these shepherds that are doing that kind of stuff. Um, I'd love to take credit for that. I'm doing all that. Um, I'm really not. I mean, the team is doing that, um, but you will find it every Friday night Aloha High School football game because I'm their chaplain, and you'll see me on the sideline for all those games for sure. Um, but yeah, just investing the kids is important. But, you know, a couple things is one is one of the things that I think is super cool is we literally have dozens and dozens of students that I could point to right now and say, that person started coming to the youth group six months ago or a year ago or two years ago, and now their whole family's coming. I mean, not I'm not talking about two or three, I'm talking dozens and dozens of like this person started coming first, then they got their mom and dad to start going to church, and their brothers and their sisters to start coming to church. So that's been, I mean, I could point that a whole bunch of times of students, which is weird because it's backwards, right? Mom and dad should be bringing their family to church and leading, right? But there's this kind of generation thing that happened in the last decade that they just weren't going to church, and and now we're getting this revival, if you will, of students that are like, dude, I'm church, I want to go to church. I mean, we've tried all the things that the world has said, but the world said, hey, I should do this, this, and that, and that's gonna make me happy. It didn't make me happy, so let's try church. They're coming to church, they're getting saved, they're getting baptized, they're plugging in, and then they're saying, hey, oh, and by the way, mom and dad's noticing, going, man, John here, made up name, John here, he used to be like this, and now he's like this. Some things have changed in here. And what's going on at Westside? What are you guys doing? And so they've seen that and they're like, okay, that makes sense. It's changed his life. Maybe we should go check out what he's doing. So that I could point to dozens of people.

SPEAKER_02

That's even that's even more of an incredible testimony because it's not just you saying, Hey, I'm noticing this change, but it's like it's somebody outside watching the change happen and being influenced by it.

SPEAKER_01

That's yeah, it's the it's the parents will text me or call me, or they'll tell me when they come to the church sometime to drop off their kid or pick them up, whatever. Just say, hey, thank you. You know, we really appreciate it. Now, and I'm gonna tell you right now, we can't fix people. We don't fix people. I mean, sometimes people want to bring their kids to West Side, hey, fix my kid. I'm like, I can't do that. Um, but we can definitely influence them uh in a in a Christ-like way. But um, but yeah, that the but that story goes on and on of people coming to the Lord, getting saved again, and bringing their family. So that I can point that a lot. But one particular person, um I got this kid in um Mountain View. So we started a club at the beginning of the year, and uh great club, great club. Um, it's called Club Elevate, and we just talk about Jesus. And it's really cool, it's a bunch of sixth, seventh, and eighth graders, and we just get together in a classroom there after school hours. It's an after-school club, and by the way, these kids could be doing soccer club, basketball club, maybe basket weaving, I don't know, but doing stuff, right? We're doing all these different things, and these have kids, a classroom of kids have chosen to come to this Christian club and just talk about Jesus. And so at the beginning of the year, we were about maybe four weeks into the program, and I just said, you know what? I just feel led right now this because you've been talking about Jesus now for several weeks now, and I feel like I need to let you know and give you an opportunity to maybe some of you here today like are thinking, hey, I want this Jesus in my life. I just don't normally know what to do, other than I like what you're saying, Tim, and I believe what you're saying, but is there like a next step? And so we talk about that, and out of that whole room, and you remember this, Jess. I probably talked about it on a staff call, but out of that whole room, I forget the exact number, but it was at least seven or eight in that one room said yes to Jesus on a on a uh Tuesday afternoon, right? Well, one of them, I could tell he locked in, like he locked in, so he started coming on Wednesday nights right afterwards, started getting plugged in, but he can only come Wednesdays because his parents own a restaurant and he was working basically Saturdays and Sundays, and so he was coming on Wednesdays, loving it, things were growing, and he was showing up club every single week. And he was that one kid that when I was talking, he was like looking right at me, locked in, like I'm at the camera right now. He's locked in, listening to everything. And he's a kid I could literally be like, when we get done and say, Hey, you know, um, basically tell me what we just talked about. And he would literally just rattle off, like he just knew because he was so focused and listening and so eager to just get it all as much as possible, that he could literally say this is exactly what we just talked about. I mean, just a locked-in, this kid's sharp, by the way. And he was locked in. And so, anyhow, just recently he finally convinced his parents, he said, Mom, Dad, dude, I want to go to church on Sundays. I want to go to church on Sundays, and they're like, Oh my gosh, this is our restaurant, blah, blah, blah. Well, they made an accommodation for him. So this is crazy. So he goes to work at this restaurant, I think somewhere around three in the morning on Sunday, and he makes all the dough for the pizza that day. And he gets off work, goes home, showers, changes, and then comes to church at 10:30. He's working through the night. This is how locked in this kid is. I just baptized this kid last week, um, and that was amazing. But to see that transformation, and then when I talked to the mom, and and when I saw her at um church a couple weeks ago, or the day he got when he got baptized, she was saying, like, oh yeah, we've seen just amazing things with him, and wow, we've seen just such a transformation. So it's been really cool to see those kind of stories, and that's one particular story of just kid doesn't know the Lord, gets to know the Lord, and just boom, and then of course you've got his family at church, you know, there for baptism. They loved it, and so again, just crazy story.

SPEAKER_02

Okay, that's so cool. I love it. So, so is this kid like you talked about your shepherds, and I love that you brought them up. How many of your shepherds are kids that have grown up in uh the student ministry and are leading now?

SPEAKER_01

Most of my shepherds are adults, but I would say six of them are students, high school students to middle school or former students, at least six, could be more.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah, so you're like develop I I think that that's one of the the really cool things about um what you have shared that you carried on into your um your student ministries now is uh opening up space for the students themselves to lead. Like they run the show, really, you know.

SPEAKER_01

I mean, that's the goal, right? Um, and uh that's the goal. And obviously, my daughter, Kendra, she is my right-hand person, and you know, the shepherds and our core crew leadership team and all these things that we do wouldn't happen if it wasn't for her. Um, I'm you know, I'm built to be an evangelist. I just want to go and just reach every kid for Christ and basically get all the stuff out of my way. Other than anything that's it, if it doesn't have to do with that, I'm kind of like, I just I don't see it. I don't, you know, systems and all these great ideas. I'm like, uh, this is too much. I just want to like talk to people, you know, the kids about Jesus, and I want to see them get saved, and I want to see them get plugged in. That's all I care about, right? But Kendra, she's uh she's got that administrative bug and she's got that leadership bug, and she knows how to say, okay, that's great, Tim, but we've got to have this, this, this, and that in play in order to stay on top of these things and make sure that the kids are moving on the mountain, if you will. You know, yeah, yeah, yeah. The community, right? Into mission, right? And so she's really focused on that process, so that's really great to have her, but yeah, she's she's uh a big help in student ministries.

SPEAKER_02

That's awesome. Very cool. Okay, well, so you've been doing this kind of investment for years, hanging out with the kids, you know, showing up for them. Um can you what do you think that your biggest lessons and um investment have been like when it comes to legacy? What what have you learned about legacy and um being like invested in and investing? What do you think are the big things that we can take away?

SPEAKER_01

I mean when I hear legacy, I look at my dad to Gabe, right? Um so many churches across the country have failed or are failing because the pastor kept it all about them. It was always about them. And it didn't matter that they were getting older and maybe less engaged, and they just kept it about them and they didn't think about legacy, like I need to make sure that I'm training up the next generation. I love the fact that I mean I could go out of town right now for three months. Student ministries isn't gonna stop, it's gonna keep going. You know, yes, as a youth pastor, I have a certain thing that's important to kind of be there, but not totally. I mean, because there's so many, I don't want to call them mini me's, that sounds weird, but there's a bunch of me's, if you will, that are there that keep it going. It keeps they keep the show going. It doesn't stop. Like, I mean, that everything happened. Kids are getting saved, they get baptized, I mean the the the events are happening, I mean, you know, shepherding is happening. I mean, it all just keeps going. So when I hear legacy, I thought man, it's like we wouldn't be where we are at West Side right now if it wasn't for if my dad had just held on and said, no, no, I'm not gonna let go of this thing, but I'm getting tired, I'm getting older. I mean, my dad's like in his 80s now, right? And he's still like the goat when he preaches. Everybody's like, oh my gosh, he's amazing. But you know, I don't, he's not running like he was when he was 40 years old when he was like going, going hard, right? And so he he did the phenomenal thing of that legacy of hey Gabe, I'm gonna pass the torch and have Gabe do that. And then Gabe eventually will do that at some point in time, and so that legacy thing is super important to keep things going and growing. And and it's crazy because I I think about you know, between my dad and Gabe, the growth that we've seen, and what's crazy is there's gonna be this another whole other crazy growth thing that's gonna happen at some point in time when Gabe passed the torch because it just it's just how it works, and it's gonna be it's gonna be incredible to see. And I'm gonna be around, I'm gonna be like 70, still paying attention and being this family ministry person, being like, Let's go, let's do this.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah, me too. I'm excited. Yeah, very cool. Okay, so um Um I was gonna ask you the unglamorous part of legacy that nobody talks about, but I think that you just you just talked about it right there. Being willing to to pass it on. Um okay, so you um let's see, what does um what does truth in love actually look like when you're investing with and you're sitting down with a 15-year-old? So this speaks to legacy too, I think, because this is a it's a uh it's kind of like a uh demonstration of what it is that you're talking about when you're talking about passing the torch. What does it look like um to sit down with a 15-year-old or a kid who's trying to make a hard decision and and um you speak truth in love to them? Like what what does that investment look like? What does that interaction look like?

SPEAKER_01

You know, I mean, it's got those conversations have gotta come from love and the Bible because sometimes kids will ask you to agree with their lifestyle that isn't a biblical lifestyle. You know, it's like they wanna goof around with their girlfriend or their boyfriend and they're not married, and it's like let's talk about that. But it's gotta be done in truth, backed by the Bible, not my opinion, and it's gotta be um you know, biblically based, right? But it's gotta be done in love. It absolutely has to be done in love where they know that um I don't hate you, I don't think you're a horrible person, I don't think you're bad, but let's talk about why you're wanting to do whatever, and so let's talk about that. So truth and love is super um important in dealing with those kind of things. Did that answer your question?

SPEAKER_02

Yeah, it it did, it did. I think that that um discipleship, that like that topic of discipleship can be one that um is that that is unclear in that um it's really easy to skirt around the hard things and to know how to engage in in those types of conversations with people. And when we're talking about preparing the next generation for a legacy to pass the torch, I think those are the things that um that we need to lean into and really get good at, you know what I mean? So I think it does for sure.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, and I think it's just important now. Um we are raising a generation of biblically based kids and not kids that think that whatever they feel is okay.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah, yeah. Yeah, the evidence is is that that that that's what they want too.

SPEAKER_01

That's where we live in now, is like just you know, my here's how I feel I I need you to validate my feelings, and it's like I can't validate it if it's not biblical. And this is why I think that people are coming to Christ more than ever, as especially students, is because again, I've been around a long time and seen kids try drugs, try alcohol, tried sex outside of marriage, tried everything they could to find validation in a girlfriend, a boyfriend, whatever, right? They tried everything, and they're just like, man, I still don't feel good. I still don't feel happy, I feel still don't feel fulfilled. And so this is why I believe we're seeing what we're seeing now. And hopefully, parents at some point in time, the generation before this Gen Z will wake up and go, hey, you know what? We've tried a bunch of stuff too, and it didn't really work. So maybe we should get back into church and try church again. Because the cool thing about God is he's the same yesterday, today, and forever. He hasn't changed and he's never left any of us, right? And so I'm hoping that this generation will continue to go forward like they're doing, and and these millennials and the the Xers will go, hey, I think the Gen Z's are onto something.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah, Gen Z pulling them in, right? They just keep on inviting their parents and bringing them to church.

SPEAKER_01

They are cool. Yep, they are.

SPEAKER_02

Very cool. Um, okay, so uh um we're in the middle of this initiative um at West Side. We're we're growing and in leaps and bounds, really, and um have this opportunity to to grow into a new space, a new building. And so um my question for you is uh um I'm gonna read this so that I ask it right. Um sorry, just a sec, Tim. You're gonna have to cut this. Just a second. Okay, here we go. Sorry about that. Okay, so we're we're a mid-initiative, and uh there is a there's actually a real question, a real investment opportunity that's being presented um uh to everybody who like to Westsiders in general, right? Um and you've been in investing in this generation like one kid at a time for years and years and years. So from where you sit, what does a season like this matter spiritually? Um, or why does a season like this matter spiritually, not just logistically, but what does God do in a church when it sacrifices together for the next generation, do you think?

SPEAKER_01

Well, I mean, the building that everybody sits in right now uh was a sacrifice from the people in 1979. And if anyone was around and knows history, uh in 1979, interest rates were probably flirting with 20% for a house loan. Gas was super expensive, maybe it wasn't five bucks, you know, but it was very expensive. Um there was a and what's interesting too is there was a gas crisis and it had to do with Iran, which is the same situation we're dealing with right now, like literally like verbatim, right? Which is I find crazy. And so my dad was raising money for this new building because we were in that tiny building for the entire church where the children's center is now, and those people sacrificed big time in a failing economy at the time, and it I mean, unemployment was off the charts. I mean, like I'm talking not three or four percent, I mean off the charts, unemployment. I mean, it was everything that you could say to measure the economy was horrible. And we raised the money and were able to get into that building and have everything that you know, the the the bricks, you know, the the the lighting and the the there was pews at the time and all that stuff that was all done by people that sacrificed. And so to be able to have people come together now and be able to drive by that church in 20 years and be like, hey, you know what? I had something to do with that church that's been reaching people every single year for the last 20 years, people getting saved and baptized because that's the West Side way. I mean, that's what we do. You know, people get saved, they get baptized, they serve. I mean, that's what we do. And to be able to have a part in that, I wouldn't even think of not having a part in it. And, you know, and I I mean, I'm on staff. I could be like, well, shoot, I'm on staff. Do I have to give to this thing too? Of course. I wouldn't think not to. I mean, like, I know our staff, shoot, we went first. Like, we stepped up first, said we're going first, and we're going all in, which has been um incredible to see the staff do, and not just sit back and be like, oh, let's just let the people do it with that. You know, we're you know, we're busy on staff. But the legacy that is gonna happen to be able to have a building that we don't have those growth constraints right now anymore in this new building. I mean, the auditorium's twice the size. So when we have those big baptism Sundays when people are driving in the parking lot and driving out, I mean, literally, if you've ever been out there up on the stairs and you watch the parking lot, you'll see people coming in, there's nowhere to park. So they're taking off either parking at Walgreens or Safeway or they're leaving. That won't be a thing anymore.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01

At least for now. Um, that is incredible. You know, Easter, we can go crazy, you know, on the on those big days, and Christmas in those days. But again, baptism, that's every six weeks. We're already packed out at our 1030 service, which is that's why we have three more services, because there's no way in the world we could continue having one service where we are today. I mean, you know, if you go to a nine or a Saturday night or a nine or twelve, you may say, Oh, there's room here. Well, not if we're all together, like there's no room. So we need to have a much bigger space. We need a bigger space for our kids, a bigger space for our students. I mean, we talked about this a few weeks ago. I had uh, what, 126 people in my uh student space upstairs, which is made basically designed to completely max out at like 80. Um, so it was incredible. So that room of 80 was packed and then went into the cafe, which went into a sitting area, and it just went all the way back, the only way they could fit all in there. And so it removes a lot of constraints and helps us to reach more people to find and follow Jesus. And so being able to be a part of that, I can't imagine, I just can't imagine sitting on the sideline being like, well, someone else will do it. And even though every sacrifice is different, you know, someone's their sacrifice of a hundred bucks may be like that was a sacrifice. Some people are a thousand dollars is a sacrifice, some is ten grand is a sacrifice, some's a hundred grand, but everybody's got different levels of what their sacrifice is. But you know, I would say we're all called to to give sacrificially if we could to this because we all know that there's a million scriptures. I mean, you could argue with me all day long on on Old Testament, New Testament, all stuff. I I I hear people all the time, I honestly I don't even care. Because what I care about is that God says you can't outgive me. He goes, I'll bless you more than you gave me. So I don't care how you want to lay it down, he makes it really clear. Give me a spoonful, I'll give you a spoonful and a half. Give me a shovel full, I'll give you a shovel full and a half. I mean, you will not outgive God. Impossible. And we have story after story of people in our church are like, yeah, I started sacrificially giving, and then all of a sudden I got a raise, or I got a bonus, or I got this, or I got that. I mean, we've heard those stories over and over again. And so just know you can't outgive God. But to sit back and not be a part of this awesome opportunity, I can't even imagine um not being a part of it. And so I'm excited about it.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah, I am too. I am too. If uh everything that you that you just shared points me back to first chronicles um it 29, and I think Gabe talked about it on Sunday, but it's that um that point in time when David was passing the torch to Solomon, and he David did absolutely everything that he could to equip Solomon and provide um Solomon with what he needed in order to take the torch and to to go on and do what it was that that God was calling Solomon to do. David like gave his wealth, he gave all of his resources, and then he um charged the people to do the same thing. And so I kind of I feel that moment too with excitement and into anticipation of what it is that God's about to do.

SPEAKER_01

So that's he set him up for success, and we want to we want to be set up with this move for success. And and the cool thing about it is if everybody comes together and just does their part, this is easy. This I mean it may seem like insurmountable, like oh my gosh, 750,000, you know, whatever unsurmountable, but not everybody does their part. It's super easy. This is like, I mean, I think what Steve was saying, there's I forgot how many families he was saying, but there's still hundreds and hundreds of families that I know are gonna make a commitment uh this Sunday. And that should put us definitely over the top, which is gonna be phenomenal, but yeah, definitely part of it.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah, very cool. Okay, well, so last question. Um, imagine somebody is listening to this who's wrestling with um maybe what their sacrifice looks like, um, whether or not they can make a sacrifice, whether or not they should sacrifice, in whatever way, whether it's uh uh discipleship, whether it's investment in a kid or a student, whether it's finances, whatever, um, what would you say to them about uh the the um about the wrestle, about the conversation with God, about like how how would you encourage them to approach that conversation and to take their next step?

SPEAKER_01

Yeah um I would I would argue in a court of law, no, I would argue with anybody that they can they can make a sacrifice. Um I have I've been a ministry my whole life, and it always amazes me when you know people sometimes be like, um I I I can't give anything, I can't do anything or whatever. Um and again, I don't mean to step on anybody's toes, so please don't take it this way.

SPEAKER_02

But a lot of us have I've been in this person, I've been in this place myself. So you know what I'm talking about?

SPEAKER_01

So we have we have we have Netflix, we have Hulu, we have Disney, um, we smoke, we go out to happy hour, we have all these things we want to do to make ourselves feel good and be happy, and we're like, oh, yeah, I don't have any money. And I'm like, remember, I'm an investment advisor. This is what I've done for 30 years. I sit down with families all the time, and I look and I'm like, why in the world do you have a $1,500 a month truck payment? You know, I mean, like, what is going on here, you know? And so I see these things, and and so the reason we maybe can't afford anything because we have spent all of our money, and the problem is we're missing out on the blessings from God because we're taking every 100% of our money and we're spending all of it and not saving any of it or not giving any of it away. And I would argue with anybody, man, you should be saving money every single paycheck, and you should be giving your offerings, if you will, your giving to your to God through your local church every single pay pay period, and God will bless you again, he guarantees it. But I I and again, there may be that special circumstance of person that's living on a fixed income who's literally social security, they can't work, they they they're disabled. I get that, and they're not there, I mean there's not a there's not a penny left. I get it, but most of us are spending money on all kinds of stuff, and if we were to pull back and be like, hey, you know what? We really don't need these things, we don't need all this stuff. I mean, you know, you come to my house, I mean, I don't have all those fun things that a lot of people have because I just don't want the payments, I don't want to spend that kind of money, but I'll but it also gives an opportunity to be able to have savings, have investments, oh, and I can give to a campaign because I'm not strapped. And I so I would encourage people to um maybe they need to have an appointment with me, but anyhow, no, just kidding. But you know, but have a conversation about hey, let's get your let's get our finances in order here. But I would say anybody can do it. Um, my wife and I, ours was pretty simple. Uh, we did three things for this campaign. One, uh we both are on staff at the at the church and we work bazillion hours more than what we get we get paid. But what we're doing is she's giving one month of her in her paycheck. So if she's taking an entire month of her paycheck, and that is what she is giving as a uh to the campaign. I am giving one month of my so think about it. I get 12 12 months of paychecks. I'm taking one entire month saying that goes to the campaign, my wife, that goes to the campaign, and then from the business, I'm taking a percentage of that and we're putting that into the campaign. And so we're really, in our opinion, you know, we feel like we're we've stepped up enough that we can feel it, right? This isn't what this is what like uh, you know, psh, just a month's paycheck, no big deal. You know, no, we'll feel that because that's a paycheck that that goes toward you know housing and and bills and and stuff that that we have, right? And so, but we wanted to be able to feel that. So that's what we're doing. But um highly recommend people to look at where all their money's going and figure out, hey, you know, how can I sacrifice to make this happen? Um, because there's way more glory in you know people getting saved, you know, eternal life, than having the latest, greatest whatever, right? Um, we don't need the latest iPhone 97 or whichever one's out now. I didn't know because I'm an input. But you know, I mean, like, but who knows, right? And so we don't need it. And so sacrificing, and of course, not only financially, but that's also gonna be time too. Because I know, like, my wife and I were going like, wow, we gotta create an entire children's center and a new youth center. Well, that's not within my hours of time frame that I'm supposed to be doing all the youth ministry stuff that I'm doing and children's ministry stuff, that's gonna come over and above. That's called sacrifice. So we got to sacrifice there, but don't get it mixed up sometimes. We're like, well, you know, because I'm doing this work and sacrificing some time, I don't need to give because my time's worth money, which it is. But if everybody had that mindset of, like, hey, I'll come by and help, you know, paint some walls and do some stuff, but no one gives financially. Well, we we don't have a building, right? So they gotta really do both.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah, yeah, yeah. In my opinion. Yeah, I like it. I I so I I love your response to that because just to affirm your what you're sharing, I remember and recently came across an email where I was a single mom. I was living by myself in an apartment with a two-year-old, four-year-old kid. I can't remember how old Danielle was at that time. And I remember sending an email um to someone who was a uh a coach and a mentor to me at Westside um saying, I don't know how, like, how can I do this? Like, it's you know, it feels impossible for me to be able to do this thing. And the response that I I got back was, how can you not? And and so I just say that to to uh affirm what it is that you just said. Like the there's so much um there's so much anticipation um in what it is that God is doing in the future, and so much uh things to be looking forward to and seeing how he's he's moving students and how he's moving the community in our area that oh my gosh, just how how could we not be involved in something like that?

SPEAKER_01

So I mean, even that too, you're right. I mean, because I mean the community stuff that we're gonna be able to do is incredible to be able to, I mean, we have a basketball court, a basketball court. I mean, how how cool is it to be between Mountain View and Aloha High School right in the middle, and have it after after school programs and get together and um there's a former trollblazer that runs a basketball thing on Wednesday nights. We have access to that, and to be able to have the stuff that we have that we're able to do for the community, and I'm I mean I'm envisioning these in these Aloha, you know, whether it's for the Christmas thing or the farmer's market or whatever, they could have access to using our facility for meetings and get togethers for things that be able to do that because there's not really any of that space in Aloha, and we could provide that for the community, you know, have in that big parking lot we have, community events. So I see the community being um uh blessed in a big, big way that when we're giving, I'm thinking, man, I mean, not only is it more kids are gonna find and follow Jesus, more adults are gonna find and follow Jesus because we're gonna we're gonna see massive growth when this happens, but it's also just the community and what's the the the involvement of us being the community and what that what they're what's gonna happen for that is gonna be just huge. So it's it's it's awesome in every way you can measure it.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah, super cool. Awesome. Well, thank you so much for joining. I appreciate it. I love watching the students and just everything that God is doing in that ministry, it's incredible. It's so cool to watch. Um, and uh, you know, your leadership is is awesome in all that. You definitely create space for all that stuff to happen. So it's really cool to learn from you. It's really cool to watch you, it's really cool to watch God do what he's doing. So thank you, and I'm excited for the future, man. I think it's gonna be bomb.

SPEAKER_01

Cool. Well, hopefully people aren't too distracted by this light that keeps coming in through the blinds and keeps hitting me. And I keep moving forward and trying to get out of its way, and I can't seem to I can't seem to defeat it. It's it's winning. And so, but anyhow, but yeah, no, it's been great. Thanks for having me on. Appreciate it.

SPEAKER_02

Cool. All right, I'll see you later, Tim.

SPEAKER_00

All right, bye. We hope you enjoyed this episode of Midweek Motivation. To make sure you don't miss any content in the future, please subscribe, share, and if you enjoyed this, give us a like and consider popping by a Westside service some weekend. You can find out more at Westside Community Church.com.