A New Week, A New Start

And I suppose it couldn’t come on a better day.

Last week, as you saw for yourself, I left a post up all week long in honor of Charlie Matthews. He will be missed by many, but I know he’s experiencing something beyond what he ever thought Heaven to be. Last week was rough in many ways, but I’m glad it’s a new week and I’m looking forward to it.

I am excited in particular about Tuesday and Wednesday because I get to go to the Acts 29 Bootcamp in Louisville, KY! I am really blessed to be able to do this. It’s something I’ve wanted to do for a long time now. A little while ago, I thought I was going to be in the process of starting a new church. Things weren’t falling into place just right and I decided to not “make” anything happen and just be patient. Actually, I had about 10 people who were ready to start meeting, so I had a good size core group to start. The situation was complicated, though, and I think it was best for me to just chill for a little while.

I still hope that God gives me the opportunity to plant.

I believe the best way to get the Gospel of Jesus in to any area is to take it there. While I think outreaches to different neighborhoods are important, this is not what I mean. I mean planting, or stationing, the Gospel in that neighborhood. Live in it. Start the church in it. Do work in it. Saturate it with your presence and show the culture there that you care, that the Church cares about it.

This bootcamp in Louisville will not make me a church planter, and neither will getting a degree in ministry. God makes church planters. What I think God will use this for in my life is to convict me of error, encourage me in my calling, and help train me in that calling. When it comes time God will make it happen. I am really encouraged and excited for a friend of mine who is getting assessed as a church planter in Middletown, Ohio.

Until then, I sit patiently like a child waiting to get out of time-out.

I love ministry and I love helping people “get” it. I love seeing people grow in Christ. I love seeing people connect with God. I love to see people heal. I love seeing people understand the Scriptures. I love it. I love to ask the question, “So, what do you think God has been teaching you lately?” The wonderful thing is that you don’t have to be a church leader to do this stuff. But to be a church planter, I think, part of it means helping other people be able to do this stuff. And I love that too.

What’s your calling? Do you know what your calling is? Where do you think God may be leading you? And most of all, what do you think God is teaching you lately?

—Jonathan

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