Why Church Plant?
When you observe the world around you there is an undeniable reality that things are not as they “ought” to be. We are broken and in need of something to change all the while surrounded by millions of people who believe they have found the solution and the right changes that need to be made. The world famous musical artist John Mayer sang “We keep waiting, waiting on the world to change.” But for us as Christian we do not have the liberty to sit around waiting and hoping things get better, there is too much at stake to do nothing. God has redeemed us and left us in the world to be the light of the Gospel, the power of salvation(Romans 1:16) and the power of transformation for the individual and the world around us. We can’t wait on the world to change we must be like billboards pointing people to the only way of change, Jesus
God has commanded every believer to be a disciple maker and Jesus is the catalyst that started it all. One of my favorite parts of God’s story of redemption is how he used the church at Antioch in Acts 11. The church is started through the intentional sharing of the Gospel to all people. Prior to this the gospel was largely only being shared among Jewish people. Because of this, the Lord established the first ethnically diverse church made up of strong leaders, new believers, and growing believers dispersed by persecution. The beautiful thing about this church is the power of the Gospel to establish a deep unity among diverse people all driven to make the gospel known throughout the world around them. This led to the first church planting movement in christian history. The church at Antioch intentionally brought Saul (later Paul) into their church to be mentored by Barnabas.
Just a short time later the church of Antioch sent out Saul and Barnabas to preach the gospel throughout all of Asia Minor. Saul and Barnabas went out to spread the good news of how God had brought about salvation through Jesus Christ. They planted churches along their way that built up leaders who then went out and planted more churches and so on.
Because of the power of the Holy Spirit working through humble men 2000 years later, we know the Gospel of Jesus. We know the Gospel because the Lord brought men like Paul and Barnabas alongside churches like the church at Antioch and they went out and planted more churches. These churches functioned as embassies of heaven displaying and declaring the gospel and planting more church.
This is what the Lord has commanded us to do in the great commission(Matt 28:18-20) and through the great commandments(Matt 22:37-39). We must go out to make disciples, declare the gospel, establish churches that are lighthouses of the love of God, embassies sending out the people to make more disciples and plant more churches.
Preparation for Church Planting
The Lord has directly led Rachel and me to Stonegate Church much like Paul at Antioch to prepare to be sent out to make disciples and plant a new church. Every one of us can look back through our lives and see examples of times when they were taught how to do something new. I can remember in high school Geometry class learning how to calculate angles and different shapes. It was math that made sense to me. But what made it even more meaningful was a month later when my dad asked me to help him lay the tile throughout our home. I was able to take my formal education and see how it actually applied to the world around me. I put the Pythagorean Theorem into real-world application to determine the angle each tile needed to be cut.
In the same way, Stonegate Church has graciously invited me in to develop, learn, and serve, much like Barnabas going to Tarsus to get Saul and bring him to Antioch, to prepare for the work God has before me. This is in the form of a Church Planting Residency that will last 18 months. Through this residency, the Staff of Stonegate will be personally investing in my development as a pastor and leader, give me opportunities to serve and lead others, direction and space to learn how to plant a church, and behind the scenes look at how the Lord has built Stonegate Church. Following this 18 months, Stonegate will send us out with a core team to plant a new church. The Lord has provided us with an invaluable opportunity to learn and one of the best ways to prepare to plant a new church.
You might be wondering where we are going to plant a new church. We believe the Lord is directing us to plant a church on the west side of Burleson and Crowley off of the Chisholm Trail Parkway. This is an area with a great need for more biblically sound disciple-making churches. This area is also growing and developing with a bright future with 10,000s of new people. These are children of God who will have no church home and unbelievers who need Jesus. This is our mission field.
Pray, Give, Join.
We need your help to see this happen. Please consider partnering with us in one or more of these three ways.
Pray for God to guide our preparation and prepare the soil of peoples souls to be soft and receptive to the good news of Jesus. Please consider signing up to receive our monthly newsletter for updates and prayer needs.
Give financially to help see this kingdom work happen. My position at Stonegate is full-time but requires me to raise $25,000 of my income. All money exceeding my families need will be saved to start this new church. Please consider a monthly or one time gift. These are through Stonegate Church and tax deductible. You can give online at our website.
We will begin gathering in my home in the near future and we would love for you to join us. You're welcome to contact us through our website to get more information about where and when we are gathering. You are also welcome to visit Stonegate Church in Midlothian on Sunday mornings.