Confessions of a Church Planter

I have been corresponding lately with several church planters who are at different phases of planting. Some are building a team, others are fund raising and some are just a few short months away from the BIG DAY! I have been thinking a lot about what to say to these great couples. Here are a few thoughts: I cannot stress the importance of having a great team in place. The team will determine how many people you can hold and how quickly you can connect new ones. Make sure they are "healthy leaders". Next i tell them to start raising money asap. We have some outside monthly partners that have really made the difference. I tell planters to ask big. Big vision needs big money but big money needs a big vision! And lastly i spend time talking about fighting discouragement. This is a big one. Most of us have had our expectations blown away. It usually isn't what we picture in our minds. While God is building a church He is at the same time doing a great work IN us. You must have a no quit attitude. Early on i felt like if we just pulled off a service (even with everything going wrong) it was a win. There were Sunday's that i didn't want to go. But that has all changed because of our consistency and His faithfulness. I am still learning so much about myself, leadership and life! I am loving the journey.

who'da thunk

Our First Baptism Service

It's Sunday afternoon and i just got home but i couldn't wait to capture some thoughts from our first baptism service. It was so awesome! Today we baptized 16 people and most of them had accepted Christ at Destiny. I wanted to say a special "thank you" to everyone that helped make Destiny Church a reality in Vegas. There are so many people that gave financially, people that prayed for us, people that served on our launch team, those that coached us along, and everybody that serves week in and week out. Today was fruit of your giving. All of us worked hard to see this day and it is paying off in eternal ways!!! I can't help but think what our baptism service will look like one year from now. We already have people signing up to be baptized next quarter. I LOVE our church. God has done some great things already as we are approaching our 6 month anniversary but get ready............the best is yet to come!
What were your thoughts on today's service?

The Best is Yet to Come

It's Monday and Tracy and I are each busy with all of the administration that comes with preparing for the week ahead as well as all of the things that have to be completed as a result of another GREAT weekend at Destiny Church. I think it was the biggest crowd we have seen to date for our pastors lunch which is a great sign because it means there are several families interested in becoming fully devoted followers of Christ! There is a lot of stuff going on this summer beginning in the next few weeks. A new sermon series starting, a missions team coming in late June from Texas, 2nd gear discipleship class launches on the 15th, Bert and Sarah will have their first baby tomorrow the 3rd, my sister is moving here from Alabama in 2 weeks...........BUT i cannot help but find myself anticipating this Sunday's service. It will be our first baptism service as a church family. This will always be something special at our church each time we do it but this being the very first one will forever hold a special place in our hearts. We are seeing the baby steps of a dream that God began to birth in our hearts 2 years ago take shape. Stop and think about what God has done in just 20 weekends. It's amazing!!! Just imagine what our baptism service will look like this time next year. The best is yet to come!!!!!!!!!