It was December 2009. Kim and I were walking through Union Square after a magical night of Broadway and decadent chocolate consumption. Kim looked at me and asked a question that caught me completely off guard. “Would you ever want to plant a church in NYC?” Inside my chest screamed, “YES!” But I said, “Yeah, if we were younger that would be fun.” Why that response? Was it fear? Probably. Was it a timing issue? Probably. Was it the fact that we were at a great church (Central Christian Church), located in a great city (Las Vegas), experiencing God move in a significant way? Probably. I am not sure what it was exactly, but what I know is that God’s timing is always perfect, and the road He takes us down twists and turns in a very different way than we anticipate.
Five years later, with several twists and turns along the way, God has opened an incredible door and said Go! Kim and I both laugh because God continues to do the unimaginable within us. Our journey to Vegas. Our journey to have a family. Our journey to the East Coast. And now our journey to NYC. There are moments that we wish that God would take us down an easier path, but God brushes that thought off and continues to crank the faith dial within us.
We are thrilled to be partnering with Potential Church to launch a church in NYC. Potential has a God honoring vision (I shared about it here.) and they are committed, with an energizing urgency, to accomplish the vision. The leadership culture that they have developed aligns with how Kim and I are wired. Potential Church is committed to partnering with people to reach their God potential.
We have already started the process of selling a significant amount of our of our prized possessions junk. The girls will finish school in June and then we will make the final transition into the city.
Please Pray:
Pray for our family as we transition into the city.
Pray for a leadership core to come together. (It already has started!)
Pray for the upcoming launch of this church. (early fall.)
Pray for the location. It is NYC and space is an issue.
Last night we had a meet-up in NYC where Troy Gramling (Lead Pastor) and Potential’s leadership made the announcement about Kim and I. At the end of the night, a gentleman named Ray walked up to me. Ray was the first guy I randomly met back in January as we took the first step in this journey. He shared with me that He hadn’t been to church – ever- but his wife asked him to check out this church called Potential Church online. He did and something clicked in his heart. It was a step forward in his spiritual journey. Then he started serving at these monthly meet-ups. Last night, he walked up to me and said, “I want you to baptize me. It’s time.”
Yep, It doesn’t get much better than that. It is the power of God leveraging His church to change lives.
Ephesians 3:20-21 20 God is able to do far more than we could ever ask for or imagine. He does everything by his power that is working in us. 21 Give him glory in the church and in Christ Jesus. Give him glory through all time and for ever and ever. Amen.
We are honored to serve alongside the Potential team in reaching NYC.
PHOTO CREDIT: Anthoy Delanoix via Unsplash