TIL THE END -- 2010

I am so excited to announce the release of my newest worship record titled, Til The End. God has done some incredible things thru Element Church and several of those moments have been captured thru these songs. The CD will release on Itunes Tuesday, October 5th. We will be having a CD release party on Wednesday September 29th. This will be a night of worship and story telling with the songs birthed here at element. This is your chance to pick up the cd for a discounted price.

They Need Your Seat

Must read from Pastor Jeff:

Yes, that’s right. It is time once again to ask people to SWITCH SERVICES! I don’t usually post on the blog our attendance #’s for our Sunday worship experiences, but in this case, if you are an Elementer you need to understand what we are facing. PLEASE Element Church, pass the word and do what you can to help us continue to reach more people for Jesus by considering coming to first service. Your seat, could literally be someone elses chance to have their life changed for ETERNITY. Check it out!

This past Sunday we had 913 people in church. First off, THAT IS STINKIN’ CRAZY and PRAISE GOD! Second, we are running out of room…EXCEPT in first service. In our worship center Sunday, we had 174 people first service, 256 second service and 249 third service. We have some more chairs we can put out but we are bumping the 80% full mark (the standard “too full” benchmark for churches) nearly every week. We will never fill every chair, human nature and comfort-ability factors limit that, and the front row just never fills up. Then when you throw in our kids space issue it gets even worse. We had 219 kids on Sunday. 53, 76 and 90 in our three worship experiences. The nursery area alone second service is starting to overflow. First of all, we are starting a short term, physical solution to our e:kidz space issues as we a staff as we speak, but second, it is going to be a comfort issue for a lot of new people coming to our church if we DON’T solve this problem short term, right now. (Part of our September 19th and 26th services here at Element will be unveiling the LONG TERM solution to our space issues. Don’t miss it!)

Bill Hybels says “Empty seats at optimal inviting hours = growth every time!” Our optimal inviting hour is 10 am. It is by far, and most regularly, the highest attended worship experience, AND I GET THAT! 10 AM would be the service I would want to attend if I weren’t the pastor. However, if you are a Christian and you call Element home I want to challenge you to view it a different way. If I told you today “This coming Sunday, there is a family who won’t hear about Jesus unless you come to first service.” You’d most likely come to first service without even batting an eye. But what if I said “There is POTENTIALLY a family, EVERY WEEK, who won’t hear about Jesus unless you come to first service.” What would your response be?

You might think I’m over dramatic or making too much of a big deal about it, but I take VERY seriously the ONE OPPORTUNITY we get each Sunday to potentially offer the Life of Christ to someone that can change their life for ETERNITY. This coming Sunday is our ONE chance to reach that family for Jesus that MIGHT never attend again if we don’t have room. For me, it’s not a big deal, it’s the ONLY deal!

I know not everyone CAN or will decide to move to first service, however, would you consider doing this VERY small thing in an effort to sacrifice your comfort for the sake of someone else’s eternity?

Looking for you in first service,

Jeff

VOTE FOR FAVORITE ALBUM COVER!

On September 29th we will be releasing the brand new worship album with songs that I have written in response to the work God is doing here at Element Church. We are so excited to share these songs with the world. I believe in these songs heart and soul. I live them and breathe them. They are the heart beat of a movement here in Cheyenne, WY. My prayer is that these songs would penetrate the human heart and infuse you with a conviction to chase the dream God has placed inside of you, and to run this race as if everything is on the line, carrying our Cross, sharing the love of Jesus with a dying world, and when its all over we can say I made it til the end.

Here is where you come in. We would like to get your opinion on which design direction to go. Below you will find 3 options. Please fill out the form below with the option you like the best.

A - Black City

B - White City

C -Black Simple

D - White Simple

We are so pumped to put these songs into your hands. Thank you all elementer's who sing these songs with all your heart, and for letting me test songs on you guys.

Til The End,
Adam

Sunday Afterthoughts May 23rd

If your afraid to take risks you just end up limiting yourself.

Yesterday we took a risk. I had this crazy idea to experiment with electronic music in worship. So we made our way down to The Bakery Studio in Colorado Springs, CO with my friend, producer/engineer, Brad Nyght who made it all magic. The entire worship set was built around a DJ running the tracks, Jeremiah adding tasteful additions with modulations on his guitar and me simply rocking the mic. This was my first time leading with out a guitar. Overall we felt really good about it. It was definently a stretch for us as a church. We have never really attempted anything like it before. Ill post 2 of the tracks here. I don't have copyright to post the other 2 but they were solid.





We also used an element of silence in our service. Completely awkward. Showing a video with text talking about hearing God in the silence. Sometimes we don't hear God because we make too much noise. Silence is a form of worship. Will you choose to be silent sometimes?

Pastor Jeff preached a very good and strong word on Expression in Worship. Click here for the rundown on his message.


Set List:
Breaking Free - Adam Cruz (arranged by Adam Cruz & Brad Nyght)
Glory To God - Steve Fee (arranged by Adam Cruz & Brad Nyght)
Til The End - Adam Cruz (arranged by Adam Cruz & Brad Nyght)
How He Loves - Kim Walker (arranged by Adam Cruz & Brad Nyght)

This Sunday

We are super pumped about this Sunday at element church. I wanted to give you a little taste and see for this Sunday. Don't miss it. I hope you enjoy.



pumped about Sunday,
adam

Sunday Afterthoughts May 9th

If you missed Element Church yesterday, I'm sorry.

God's presence was so strong and moving.

As you know we like to mix things up all the time around here. So we did just that. We stripped it down to a full acoustic worship set. It was beautiful. We rocked 4 acoustic guitars across the frontline with huge harmonies and moving creative elements. Added a new tag to the end of Nothing But The Blood which was a powerful moment. We opened and closed with the AWAKE MY SOUL tag from Mumford and Sons. Such a cool song.

The kicker of the day was having Jenna LaPierre paint throughout the entire worship service. The theme was Awakening. Check out Jenna's facebook for more information on purchasing the painting that came out of that time. They are auctioning it off for there missions trip.















There was such a specialness about meeting with Jesus yesterday.

But we won't stop there...this week we are busting out more Jesus Creativity. haha. This weeks worship set is brand new to Element. Never been done before. Don't miss it. Jesus is creative. Don't put Him in a box and say "there is only one way to worship". Great moves of God from all of history have happened with so many musical styles. So we want to still press the envelope on style. There is a huge culture out there that still have not heard of Jesus and His love for them. Don't ever settle. Be creative.

Pastor Jeff delivered a great word on Routine in worship.
Check it out here.

Set List:
Awake My Soul - Mumford and Sons
Your Grace is Enough - Chris Tomlin
Nothing But The Blood - Old Hymn
Hallelujah Our God Reigns - Hillsong
Awake My Soul (re-visited) - Mumford and Sons
Communion - Third Day

Til The End,
Adam

Sunday Afterthoughts May 2nd

Yesterday we kicked off our new series called "OPEN" - Noisy Hymns, Ego-Music, and How God Sees Your Worship. I am pumped about the things God has laid on Pastor Jeff's heart for this topic. I think that it is timely especially in today's culture of "church shopping". We have made worship so much about ME and MY "preferences" as if THEY EVEN MATTER, that we have replaced TRUE "HANDS AND FEET" worship for a "time of singing", in-which afterwards has no affect on the way we live our lives in our work place, our schools, families and communities . I know that my heart is going to be stretched on this topic as your worship pastor and I am asking God to do a brand new work in me thru this series.

My creative team knocked it out of the park for our set design this month. We put in many more hours than normal but the end result was remarkable.















Leeland's new song "Follow You" is exactly what this sermon series is all about. It will be song several times this month for sure.

I challenged our team yesterday to leave it all out on the stage. Give it everything you've got, and they definitely did. I love this worship team. Their passion to see God lifted high. I love watching each one of them worship their heart out and be moved by God during every service. Its contagious. But it doesn't stop there. When they worship God, they are moved beyond the song and they live it out. Love you guys!!!

Sunday Set List
Open Up The Gates - PlanetShakers
Glory To God - Fee
I Surrender - Kim Walker
Follow You - Leeland/Brandon Heath



til the end,
Adam

Sunday Afterthoughts 4-25

///Today was a great day at element. Pastor Jeff was on a much needed/deserved vacation to cancun. So pastor Andy filled the pulpit. He did a fantastic job and spoke boldly on Loving God with all our Strength. A great challenge to step into action with our faith.

///There was a great authenticity about worship today. The "energy" of worship in 3rd service was electric. So huge. Each service was a great time of worship though.

///We are absolutely loving the newest song by Corey Asbury called So Good To Me.

///I can't express how excited I am about our upcoming series in MAY called "OPEN" (noisy hymns, ego music, and how God sees your worship). We have some creative elements planned for the month. Jeremiah and I spent the last week in the Bakery Studio nailing down creative elements for one of the weeks. Pastor Jeff will be bringing the word strong. I'm very excited about the direction we are taking on worship. Buckle up!

Set List:
Rise and Sing - Fee
So Good To Me - Cory Asbury
Stronger - Hillsong
The Same Power - Hillsong

Sunday Afterthoughts April 18th

It has been a while since the last post. 5 months in fact. I am not promising that I am going to be more consistent, however due to the increasing interest in our elementer's wanting to know the names of the songs we sang for the last Sunday, I will be posting our set list here consistently each monday morning. And periodically some thoughts on worship, and my family. Amber and I are now only 14 weeks away from having a baby girl. So I am sure this will be used a lot more.

Set List:
The Time Has Come - Hillsong
So Good To Me - Cory Asbury
How He Loves - Kim Walker (version)
Yes You Have - Leeland

The Evaluation Room

So this weekend I had the privilege of spending some time with some great friends at The Bakery Studio here in Colorado Springs. We are working on Chris Watt's new record and also doing some song writing for various things. I love the studio and I get to come down here quite often to be a part of several projects. Something hit me as we were leaving the studio yesterday though:

As we were leaving I was reflecting on how humbling the studio sessions are for me. I feel confident as a guitar player and I feel like I'm creative and talented. But when I put myself in a PERFECT situation, where every single note, strum, tuning, hook line, riff, picking, & timing has to be spot on, I realize how far I really am from where I need to be. So I asked Brad for some "next step" feedback. What should I challenge myself on so that each time I'm in the studio I am better. I felt humbled because I quickly realized all my "lazy" areas that I never work on. Or the things that I don't think matter until I put myself in the studio.

The danger I realized is how much I do this in my walk with God. Here's the catch. Some of us don't have a true understanding of where we REALLY are in our walks with God because we are not putting ourselves in "the studio". I AM NOT TALKING ABOUT RIGHTEOUS PERFECTION, or saying lets all be perfect. Here is what I am saying. Some of us are content where we are and become complacent, we never put ourselves in "the studio" where all is shaken & revealed. God is "the studio", and I when I get a around Him I get a real evaluation of where I am at. Its there that we are challenged in our comforts, our laziness, & our compromises. We get around the ONE who is Holy and Perfect and we realize where we are, and we should ask "Father, what's the next step for me, what needs to go, what needs to be challenged, what needs to be tweaked so that I can continually become more like you?"

For several, we struggle with our devotional life, going to church consistently, surrounding our self with the right influences, having a private prayer closet, etc. These are things that put us in the "evaluation room". If we never go there, then we are in danger of becoming Revelation 3 vomit.

I have learned to love my time in the studio, because I know when I leave I am becoming a better musician. So I am learning to love my "GOD STUDIO" where I ask him to search me, challenge me, and make me more like Him. Have you been to "the studio" lately?

Headed to the Studio,
Adam

The Weight of the Race

A couple of weeks ago I was spending some time in my devotions and praying about life and ministry and such. I felt God speak this to me:

Ministry is like a relay race. The kind with a baton. The way we get started determines the way we end. Everyone hands off the baton to the other racer. Its of most importance that the guy in front does the best he can so that the next guy doesn't have to make up the slack of the other guy, which eventually leads to a bad finish for the final guy.

This is why the greeters in the parking lot, the ones folding bulletins, those leading worship, those bringing the word, those dealing with kids, student ministries, and everything else carries huge weight.

I think sometimes we separate ministries. Saying "well, that's the student department and that's the children's, etc". Not realizing that if I drop the baton as a first impressions guy or a youth worker, I potentially damage what God wants to do from the pulpit in someones heart.

As a worship leader, I must make sure I do everything I can to the best of my ability to help people receive what God has for them thru the word God has given pastor Jeff.

I think sometimes we get lazy and don't carry the "weight of the race" and that's when we start dropping batons in ministry. That goes for all areas. People begin to leave and you become a bad steward of the talents and gifts God has given you.

The flip side of that is, the beauty of working hard and to the best of our abilities. When we train hard, the end result is worth it.

We are all in this for one purpose. Many roles, one goal.

Learning,
Adam

Be The Church Day video!

Here is a link to the video for Be The Church day, where we canceled church to go out and BE the church. 6 projects and peoples lives were changed. God did a miracle. It was a very powerful thing to be apart of. This entire series has been incredible and we are seeing God change our minds and hearts towards what the church is supposed to REALLY BE! Enjoy...

http://vimeo.com/6727011

Sunday Set List

Solution - Hillsong United
Beautiful Jesus - Kristian Stanfill
Light up the World - Desperation Band
Give me your eyes - Brandon Heath
Go Tell It - Lee Mcderment

Is Jesus recognized in your life and church?

I was reading in my morning devotions today in Mark chapter 6. Jesus has been healing people, feeding people, teaching people, and wanted to get away and rest cause so many people were coming and going. Then the disciples jump on a boat and head over to Bethsaida, Jesus walks on water, calms every thing. And when they got to Gennesaret it says:
"The people recognized Jesus at once, and they ran throughout the whole area, carrying sick people on mats to wherever they heard he was. Wherever he went-in villages, cities, or the countryside(WYOMING)-they brought the sick out to the marketplaces. They begged him to let the sick touch at least the fringe of his robe, and all who touched him were healed."

I was moved by the fact that the people RECOGNIZED him, and responded. They brought everyone the knew that needed him, it sounded chaotic.

It made me think, do our cities recognize Jesus in our churches and our lives. Are the "SICK" coming to find life in Jesus. Is there a sense of chaos to get close to Jesus and possibly be healed.

Jesus may your name be so famous in our city, that the hurting, broken, lost, rich, poor, healthy and unhealthy, men, women, and children will flood your churches to "touch the fringe our your robe" and be healed and given life to its fullest. Let us get out of the way and simply provide the place for YOU and them to meet.

Adam

Sunday Set List

Bare Bones Sunday is what we called this past Sunday. We literally used ZERO volunteers. NONE. NO ONE. It was the WORST Sunday ever in the history of Element Church as far as presentation goes. No one greeted, no donuts, coffee, no ushers, no worship guides, no lyrcs on the screen, no screen at all, no theatrical lighting, no sound (I PLUGGED MY MIC AND GUITAR INTO MY AMP) and led worship, no First Impression people in the lobby, no door openers, no one in the parking lot. IT WAS HORRIBLE. FOR THIS REASON, we can't do anything without our volunteers. Our volunteers are priceless and they do a phenomenal job. It takes over 100 volunteers to pull off 1 Sunday morning. We didn't want to TALK about it anymore we wanted to SHOW it. The point was made.

-- We received over 90 interest cards for people to step up and volunteer.

Set List:
O Praise Him: David Crowder
Reign In Us: Starfield
Funny How: Adam Cruz
For Who You Are: Hillsong United

sunday set list 8-30-09

Salvation is Here - Hillsong United
You Never Let Go - Matt Redman
Till The End - Adam Cruz
I Am Free - Desperation Band

I introduced my new song "Till the End" to the band and they knocked it out of the park. Phenomenal job. Everyone added a creative flare to it and I think it connected well with everyone.

Sunday Afterthoughts 8-23

This week I wrote a new song based on the series we are in, called "Till the End". It was literally a download straight from heaven. I wrote it late one night and felt like it was my heart for this series. Jeff has coined the phrase "Till the End" throughout this series. So today Jeff talked about making it to the end in our Marriages. I had Amber sing the song with me at the end of service for a time for Couples to pray thru this idea. It was beautiful having her up there with me. I love my wife very much and I am committed "till the end" with her. I love being able to do what we love, together. (who knows maybe with enough prodding from you she will consider singing more on sunday's, hint hint). Regardless it was a really cool moment today to participate in that with her!

I love being a part of a church that is helping people experience life. I love that when I come in, I leave different. I love having a pastor that isn't afraid of man, but fears God and preaches what God says to preach. I love serving with a team that is WILDLY CRAZY ABOUT JESUS. It's contagious.

We had some 247 kids in our E:Kids ministry today. Absolutely in sane.
Had a packed house all 3 services

I love walking out into the lobby and feeling an intense BUZZ in the air of anticipation and passion for Jesus and what He is doing here at Element Church.

To say that I am incredibly STOKED for our next series "BE", would be an understatement. We have things planned at Element that have never been done before. EVER! YOU DO NOT WANT TO MISS SEPTEMBER 6th! AT ALL! Make sure you do everything you can to be here at Element, and don't think you'll just listen to the podcast or check it out online. The rest of the weeks are going to be incredible as well as we take a look into what the church should really "BE"!

Jesus was worshiped today, the Word was preached and lives were changed. LOVE IT!

Had a GREAT night of Settlers of Catan at the Andrews house. I won!!! Cannot EVER get enough of that game. lol

Off to bed. Excited about Lead Team meeting with the guys tomorrow morning. Finishing up the book "IT" by Craig Groshel. Really good book.

Set List:
Today is the Day - Lincoln Brewster
Sweetly Broken - Brandon Heath
Came to my Rescue - Hillsong United
How He Loves - Kim Walker
Till the End - Adam Cruz

Till The End,
Adam

Sunday Afterthoughts and updates

Man I have entered this summer at full speed. I feel like I have been out of Cheyenne more than in Cheyenne. I always have thoughts that I want to blog to help keep everyone in the loop with what is happening with Amber and I and here at Element but I am not doing a very good job so far.

-- I am tired from today & I have no voice left. Someone told me to go drink a few shots because it helps. Hmmmm. I think ill pass, any other thoughts?

-- God was worshiped today! God's presence was thick today. We as believers bring the presence of God with us when we gather. I love gathering in a corporate setting to lift high the name of Christ. On the contrary its of vital importance that we worship (in song and word) privately.

-- We began our new series called "UNTOUCHABLES" today. Thru the month we will be taking straight aim AT THE CHURCH. Jeff talked about the issue of Character today. Very challenging. I am truly stretched like I have never been thru the words God gives Jeff.

-- Getting pumped about next week for our Tailgate baptism party. I think we are baptizing some 28 people. Going to be sweet. Remember next Sunday following 3rd service.

-- I have already designed the graphic for our next series and will start work on the new promo video which will show next Sunday. Untouchables and this next series are going to be intense here at Element. I am excited for the freedom God is bringing to all of us thru this next 7 weeks.

Alright I am headed to partnership class. And then sleeping lol.

Set List for Sunday July 12th:
Today is the day - Lincoln Brewster
Spring of Life - Kristian Stanfill
Mighty to Save - United
From the Inside Out - United


Adam

Light Tech

Currently Element Church is looking for a Light Tech.
Being a Light Tech means programming and running our motion and par can light systems for our Sunday morning worship experience. We will provide all training necessary to do a great job on Sunday mornings. This is a very fun opportunity / working environment to be creative here at element church!

Email me at adam@elementweb.net if you are interested. I have an application for you to fill out and we will get you plugged in right away.

searching,
Adam

afterthoughts, a confernce, and a blog long due

Sunday was one of those times you'll never MAKE happen and you'll remember and hold to for a long time. The presence of God was so thick in that room and you Elementers just pressed in for it. Man I was moved and loved meeting with Jesus. I hope all your hearts were moved and brought closer to Jesus.

My band knocked it out Sunday. Take me aside. They worked hard and helped be the conduit for worship to flow thru. Great job Bryant, Jeremiah, Jeremy, Mark, Amanda, Jason, Todd, Ben, Katie. Everyone needs to know how much each of these people mean to me. They are a direct influence on people experiencing life. Thank you for all the time you guys put in.

I brought the team down for the Enter Worship Conference this week. We are starting day two. Last night was a very powerful time of worship and a challenging message. A great start to the week. We are very excited about what God is going to teach us.

Here are a couple team shots:
(We let the ASCENT guys hang in our presence, we all know they wish they were ENTER peeps, LOVE YOU!!)