Hey everyone. I wanted to provide a brief update on our family, our team, our church, and upcoming opportunities to engage with us. We love you and appreciate all your prayers, generosity, and encouragement along the way!
FAMILY UPDATE
We are officially parents to a one-year-old! Asa James turned one on May 29th and we celebrated his birthday in June. It was such a deep joy seeing people we love celebrate our son. Everyone was so generous and we couldn’t be more grateful. To be loved by people is special; to see your child loved by people is something different. He is a gift from the Lord and we pray daily that we would steward his heart and life well.
Additionally, one month later (June 29th) I turned 29 years old. It’s pretty crazy to think that Katie and I are planting a church, parenting a one-year-old, and leading a team all while navigating our twenties but the Lord is kind and faithful (and the people he’s surrounded us with are second to none). We can empathize with those young, scared apostles sitting in the upper room wondering how God could ever use them to execute the mission and vision of Jesus in the world. But He did it then. We’re praying and believing for Him to do it again—here & now—with us and our team.
MINISTRY UPDATE
The month of June was a crazy one. I spent a lot of the month away from home and much of that time away from Katie and Asa. It was hard but we did get to see some fruitful ministry happen. Over two weeks (06/16 - 06/27):
I preached 4 sermons/services at two different churches.
If you’d like to watch my sermon from West Ridge Church, you can do so below.
I taught 16 hours of evangelism courses & content to students ranging from 6th grade to college.
I preached 10-night sessions on church planting and the mission of Jesus.
I had 4 meetings with churches about support and fundraising.
I put over 1,000 miles on our vehicle.
We saw 10 people put their faith in Jesus.
Thankfully, I’m at home for the majority of this month. Any ministry we are doing is close by! Over the next few weeks…
I’ll be preaching at Dunwoody Community Church on Sunday, July 7th. Afterward, Kingdom City Church meet-up/hangout at Valor Coffee in Dunwoody at 1PM. This will take the place of our monthly gathering for July!
Additioanlly, I’ll be preaching at Crosspoint City Church on Thursday, July 18th at 7PM as well as Sunday, July 21st at 9:15AM and 11:15AM.
READING UPDATE
Every year, I make it a personal goal to read 52 books (1 book/week). I’m a little behind this year but that’s okay. I don’t usually share what I’m reading but I’ve had some friends suggest that I start sharing because people are always looking for reliable resources. That said, here’s a list of some of the works I have read/am currently reading this summer.
No Greater Love: A Biblical Vision for Friendship by Rebecca McLaughlin
The Jesus I Never Knew by Philip Yancey
Surrender to Love by David G. Benner
Fighting Shadows by Jon Tyson & Jefferson Bethke
Is Easter Unbelievable? by Rebecca McLaughlin
How to Talk about Jesus (without being THAT guy) by Sam Chan
Simply Christian by NT Wright
The Cross of Christ by John Stott
Seek the Peace of the City by Eldin Villafañe
Becoming a King by Morgan Snyder
Confronting Jesus by Rebecca McLaughlin
Telling a Better Story by Joshua Chatraw
Surprised by Hope by NT Wright
Apostolic Imagination by JD Payne
Unreasonable Hospitality by Will Guidara
FINANCIAL UPDATE
By God’s grace, we reached the $100,000 mark in total funds raised. It’s so easy in this season to stay in that grind mode of go, earn, work, engage, etc. that you never pause to thank God for what He’s done and what He’s doing. We want to discipline ourselves to stop to praise God and thank people. To those of you who have given, thank you. We can keep dreaming, planning, and preparing to invest in our community to reach the lost, make disciples, and plant churches because of this foundation of support. Praise God for His provision and thank you for your support!
However, I do want to keep everything in perspective. When you think of all the equipment that we have to buy, relocating to the city (in the most overpriced market in the country), any potential staff members or contracted workers, building/facility rentals, basic administrative needs, church ministry, community outreach, missional support, as well as any future planning and security—we have a long way to go. So please continue to pray for us and give as the Lord provides and wills. We love you and are immensely grateful for each of you!
PRAY FOR US.
As always, continue praying for us and our team. We have a good bit of team members in the process of moving over the next couple of months. Pray for them as they transition—the grief of leaving a place you’ve called home and invested years of your life with the challenge of moving somewhere new. Pray for a supernatural infusion of hope and vision so the enemy doesn’t steal the joy that is theirs as a result of faithfulness and obedience to Jesus and His mission.
I was finally able to schedule a meeting with city leadership next Tuesday, July 9th, at 2:00PM. We want them to feel our support and eagerness to serve. We’re also praying they would see the church as a partner, not an enemy. Pray that God would lower any walls and assumptions. Pray that He would join our hearts together around our joint vision of seeing our city flourish.
Pray for new friends as well as connections with “persons of peace” who simply want to come alongside us and offer their support, encouragement, and influence. In these early days, there are two paths to local credibility—earn it or borrow it. We are in this for the long haul; willing to take the time to earn credibility no matter how long it takes or how hard the journey is. However, we are also praying that God would bring along people who have earned that credibility over the years and are willing to share it with us.
Thanks for reading, friends. Reach out if you have any questions along the way. Thanks for walking with us in our mustard seed season. There’s a harvest to reap if we don’t give up!
He told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his field. Though it is the smallest of all seeds, yet when it grows, it is the largest of garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds come and perch in its branches” (Matthew 13:31-32).
Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up (Galatians 6:9).