WHAT I’M LEARNING
I was with a fellow church planter today (shoutout Zach Bradley at Brookhaven Pres) who has been a great friend and helpful guide over the past few months. We were commiserating over some of the realities of church planting—wearing a lot of different hats you’re not proficient in and doing a lot of work you’ve never been trained in. It’s a very disorienting season filled with uncertainty because you’re doing a lot but not really sure if it’s “working” or not.
It’s very much a journey but I’m learning the process itself is kind of the whole point. As much as we can be tempted towards being results-oriented and establishing Kingdom City Church as a community and organization, God is fashioning for Himself a people—a humble, holy, dependent people. Because of this, He has to graciously, lovingly, but intentionally pry our hands off of what is rightfully His. He’s sancitifying us because His Kingdom doesn’t have room for the flesh. In the words of Jesus: “The flesh is no help at all” (John 6:63).
WHO WE’RE SERVING
Today, August 1st, some of our team was able to provide and serve lunch to the entire staff of Chamblee High School. These 180+ men and women are serving the students of our community. This generation is referred to as an “orphaned generation” because of the level of family and home brokenness they are dealing with. It’s the highest in American history and potentially some of the highest in all of human history. They desperately need and long for men and women to pour into their lives; to father, mother, grandfather, and grandmother them into a life of meaning. We are thankful for teachers, coaches, and administrators who leverage their lives to pour into the next generation. Dietrich Bonhoeffer once said: “The test of a moral society is the kind of world it leaves to its children.” I think it could be said: “The test of a moral society is the kind of children it leaves to its world.”
Lord willing, Kingdom City Church can be a catalyst for change to unleash generational blessing rather than passing down generational brokenness. Thus leaving healthy, whole children to pursue the renewal of a broken world.
If you have or currently do financially support Kingdom City Church, we were able to bless these teachers today because of you. Thank you for investing in us as we pursue the mission of Jesus in our city and bless the leaders of our community!
WHAT’S BEEN HAPPENING (Ministry Highlights for July)
On July 7th, our entire team was invited to Dunwoody Community Church where I preached and we were able to set up a table and share about what we were doing. This was a really exciting opportunity because Dunwoody is only about 10-15 minutes north/northeast of our target context. There were individuals and families there who live where we live and are excited to hear that Jesus is moving in an area that desperately needs Him.
On July 18th & 21st, I had the privilege of serving one of our partner churches, Crosspoint City Church. Through some amazing leadership and the faithfulness of God, Crosspoint City has really become a missional movement. They have several campuses and God has used them to impact not just our region but the nations. We are thankful to have them in our corner as a church. I’m thankful to have Pastor James, Pastor Matt, and other Crosspoint leaders in my life as a man.
Click Here to watch my message “A Leader & Church for this Cultural Moment” from Crosspoint City Church on July 21st.
WHAT’S COMING UP
Official Commissioning
This Sunday, August 4th, we will officially be commissioned (or sent out) by West Ridge Church. This is a special moment because churches plant churches, not denominations or organizations. The biblical model has always been the expansion of God’s Kingdom through the multiplication of disciples and churches. West Ridge is where Katie came to faith in Christ. It was where I found a lot of healing. It’s where Katie and I were married. It was Asa’s first church. It was where I became a pastor. It was home. We’re thankful for the role they’ve played in our lives and story. We’re thankful for the role they will continue to play in our lives and in the story of Kingdom City Church.
Team Development
We are excited to launch public ministry this fall but before we do, we want to lay a firm foundation with our team. We want to have a team consisting of 4 key characteristics: 1) Calling, 2) Chemistry, 3) Competency, and 4) Culture. To establish these elements, we need to be intentional about being together and developing the necessary skills for ministry. We’re excited to gather together, train together, serve together, and hang together!
Missional Community Launch
One of the core tenets of our strategy is our missional communities. They are vital to building the culture of our church, the intimacy and diversity of our community, as well as our desire for multiplication at every level (disciples, communities, and churches). The goal is to start with one missional community and then multiply neighborhood by neighborhood. The Way of Jesus isn’t mission and community but mission through community. MC’s are our vehicle for just that.
Team Member Transitions
Over the next month, we have 7-8 different people moving cities to be a part of Kingdom City Church. Please pray for them as they are commissioned by their churches, leave their networks, and move to a new city. I admire their faith and obedience to Jesus. They challenge me and encourage me.
In the church planting journey, people tend to give the lead planter and his family a lot of attention and credit… but anyone who’s ever planted a church will be quick to tell you that while their sacrifice may have been the first, it wasn’t the only one. I am only one small part of the body of Christ. Like anyone else, I have some gifts but I also have limitations—God-given limitations—that make me dependent upon Jesus, yes, but also other brothers and sisters who God has gifted in areas where I lack. The goal isn’t to build a church that looks like one leader or a team of individuals, but one that looks like Jesus. To do that we need the entire body of believers to come together and work together in unity until we reach the full measure of Christ (Ephesians 4).
HOW WE’RE DOING (The Odgers Family)
This month was special as we got to see some of our best friends for the first time in awhile. Dakota and Maggie Adair (along with their two kiddos) are in the process planting Heirloom Church in Kyle, Texas and will launch in September. We got to bring our kids together, had a great dinner with friends and family, and Dakota even came to check out our community and pray for our city. (We also got to get Asa and Lucy together as we maintain our continued hopes of an arranged marriage.)
The Adairs have been instrumental throughout Katie and I’s story—from marriage and family, to ministry and planting. It’s pretty special to be in this process at the same time in different parts of the country. We miss them deeply, but mission and multiplication always include grief. To be obedient to Jesus is to sacrifice now but receive infinitely more in the long-term. Thankfully, love and friendship isn’t bound to the limitations of distance and the promise as Christians is that while the mission is temporary, our bond with one another isn’t. We love them. We cheer them on. We long to see them again soon and will relish it when we do!
We have eternity together but the time for the mission is now.
HOW YOU CAN BE PRAYING
Team Growth, Chemistry, & Development
God is moving in our community as more and more people move to the city and want to be part of something new. We’ve added several people over the past couple weeks that are new friends. This really excites us because it’s confirmation that God is move here, now. That He is with us here, now. That He is leading us here, now. That God is building His church here, now. This also presents challenges as different people from different places and at different levels of spiritual maturity come together to establish a new community and culture. But this is what God does—He saves people and brings them together into His family and makes them one. Pray that our team would continue to grow in number as well as connection and chemistry, and develop their gifts and skills for ministry together.
Influence with Lost Friends
We are building a lot of relationships with new friends who don’t have a relationship with Jesus. I had coffee this week with a new friend from Saudi Arabia who was raised in the Muslim faith but now lives and works in Atlanta. We had a great conversation about the “Abrahamic faiths” (Islam, Judaism, Christianity) but specifically about the person and work of Jesus Christ and His distinctiveness. God has given me a heart for this brother I’m praying specifically that he would be the first baptism in Kingdom City Church history! Pray for my friend A (I want to protect his identity) that Jesus would reveal Himself to him and he would come to saving faith in Christ
Continued Support & Breakthroughs
We’re so grateful for the generous support we’ve seen thus far. However, we’ve had some conversations here recently that have given us a clearer picture of what awaits us down the line. We’ve had some conversation with potential gathering spaces and the price is pretty astronomical (for spaces that would be able to provide what we need) and we want as much of our resources as possible to go to ministry, not just a facility. There’s actually some pretty heavy restrictions between our community and religious organizations (specifically Christian churches). For instance, we cannot meet in schools (for now, at least). Thankfully, we have plenty of time before we have any reason to worry but it is a hurdle that we want to go ahead and be intentionally praying through ahead of time. Please pray that the Lord will provide the necessary resources for ministry as well as an ideal space in the ideal location with the ideal relationship that will allow us to meet at a consistent time in a consistent place that allows for growth.
Love you all. Thank you for being with us on this journey.
“He is faithful. He will surely do it.” —1 Thessalonians 5:24