The mission of the church is to make disciples of Jesus.
Our Calling - Church planting -
My family moved to the south Fort Worth/Burleson area in 2001. In these last 17 years, I have come to see a great need for more churches committed to the Word of God and with the conviction that the gospel doesn’t just save us but also changes every aspect of our lives. From this, the church is actively engaging the culture around them with the Gospel in their homes, workplaces, schools, and the marketplace, making disciples that multiply by making more disciples. We want to be a people whose worship on Sundays spills out into our lives, living on mission everyday as we display the love of Jesus and share the Gospel. We want to have a diverse community in the church that displays the love of God for all people through their love for one another and through hospitality, regularly inviting the lost into their homes and lives.
Imagine with me the transformation that would happen if this church existed; souls would be saved, lives changed, marriages restored, neighborhoods made safe, schools improved, gospel unity restored, and more. Think of the kind of impact the Gospel had in Philippi, where the culture began to change so much that businesses that profited from sin had no customers. This might seem like a lofty dream but this is the power of the Gospel. This is what we believe the Lord has called us to be and the kind of church He has called us to Plant.
This kind of church will not exist apart from the powerful work of God and the faithful, intentional work of His people. This means we must prepare, which is why the Lord led us to Stonegate Church.
OUr PREPARATION - Stonegate Church -
We are humbled by this calling that the Lord has laid on us and excited to share with you the direction we are going. We believe church planting is the direction the Lord has called us and the wisest way to prepare is to spend a season learning from those who have walked this road before us. Through relationships 15 years in the making, the Lord has brought Rachel and I to Stonegate Church in Midlothian, Texas. We are happy to share with you that I am now serving full-time on staff at Stonegate as the Church Planting Resident.
It is vital that we prepare well for church planting. The Lord has graciously opened up a great opportunity for us to prepare in the form of a 18 month church planting residency at Stonegate Church in Midlothian, Texas. A residency provides a space to develop as a leader, learning through experience and academic study, and plan with the guidance of Godly men who have church planted before. In my time as a resident at Stonegate there will be an emphasis on my personal and leadership development through reading and leading others in a variety of areas. This will build my knowledge and leadership skills that are necessary to lead in the context of a church plant.
Throughout the residency I will be studying a variety of resources including missions, christian community (small groups), preaching, church planting, leadership, philosophy of ministry, and more. In addition to studying through reading and reflection Stonegate has invited me into every area of ministry to see all the behind the scenes of what they do. From this I will be developing the, leadership structure, core principles, philosophy of ministry and functions of our church plant. This truly is an amazing opportunity to learn, experience, and develop for the future.
Stonegate is a healthy church with a vision to see churches planted and a passion to help church planters get from point A (the call to church plant) to point B (establishing a new church). Our time at Stonegate will be focused on personal development, future church development, core team development, and more.
Our direction - Chisholm Trail Parkway -
Over the last 16 years of life and ministry in the south Fort Worth area, the Lord has created a love and burden to see a healthy church, centered on the Gospel, aimed to reach people in this area. The area we are going to church plant is the Chisholm Trail Parkway area, west of Burleson and Crowley, south of Fort Worth. The void of a gospel centered church with solid Biblical preaching in the this area and the decades of future growth with the new parkway makes it an ideal location with great need. Our plan is to spend these next 18 months preparing and working toward establishing a new church to reach this growing area in 2020.
