I’ve never built a house or had one built for our family, so I’m no construction expert.  But I do know there’s a lot of prep work before the visible part of the house gets built.  All of that stuff (getting permits, digging the foundation and whatever else they do) takes a really long time and everybody watching wonders, “when are they going to start building?”  But a contractor knows how essential those first steps are and how relatively quickly the project goes once it gets above ground.

Planting a church is a lot like that.  For months it seems like nothing is happening – at least nothing visible.  But those prep times are essential.  It’s when vision, values, mission, name, launch team strategy, fund raising strategy, etc… are all getting ironed out.  We’ve definitely been in the prep work phase since August and we still have strategic work to do that will carry us through the Spring of 2014.  But we’re nearing a turning point in the project.

We’ll be above ground soon – announcing a location, recruiting a launch team, working on fundraising and casting vision.  To be honest, I can’t wait!  That’s the point where I get to start sharing so much of what God has been doing in us these past months and years.

As that anticipation grows, so does the weight of getting this right, honoring Jesus and planting a church that is healthy, biblical and focused on loving the community.  At this point, I would simply ask you to pray for wisdom and divine direction in brining the church Jesus is calling us to lead to life.  More than anything, we want to be faithful to Him.  So, please, pray He will guide our every step.

At the end of next week, I’ll be able to share much more about what this is all going to look like.  In the mean time, keep praying for us!