My dad was a church planter. He had 2 under his belt that he was deeply involved in. Neither were wildly successful in terms of numbers, but it was still very much a part of early life. In recent years Cher and I have developed a passion for church planting. No, we're not announcing any big move. At this point we simply love seeing people pursue God's kingdom with extreme risk and supporting them any way we can. Among some awesome ministries that we're involved with and know about are two church plants that I wanted to just highlight for a few minutes. I think both of these are going to change lives and communities on a big scale.
The Lehigh Valley Project (Legacy Church). I met with Richie Merritt about a month ago. He's coming from Forefront church in Virginia Beach to plant a church right here in the valley. He's got a persona and passion unmatched in the valley. He's from the area originally and he's coming back after years of being away. Why do I think this church will make a huge impact? I grew up in the valley and if Legacy Church is going to be anything like Forefront, there's nothing like it for 100 miles. It's a passion that echoes with my own heart of pulling out all the stops when it comes to changing lives. I'm looking forward to being involved and networking however I can. It's exciting stuff for this area.
The Baltimore Project (Captivate Christian Church). Tally has been a trench buddy - one of the guys I mentioned yesterday. We've been through stuff together and watching each others ministry journey has been a ride. He hooked us up with the Charm City Church in Baltimore where we were this past summer. He's planting a church outside Baltimore with the goal of captivating that city. I'm excited to see God blow that up! Why I think he'll succeed: He's spending a lot of time preparing. In fact right now he's touring the south hanging out with, in my opinion, some of the coolest people around in church ministry with the intent of just listening. His passion for the city where he grew up will fuel life-change in a big way. He's got an awesome blog too - tallywilgis.com.
These are 2 church plants that are on my mind daily and I can't wait to have a part in in some way. Visit their sites and get to know them. This is time with spending on a cause worth dying for.
The Lehigh Valley Project (Legacy Church). I met with Richie Merritt about a month ago. He's coming from Forefront church in Virginia Beach to plant a church right here in the valley. He's got a persona and passion unmatched in the valley. He's from the area originally and he's coming back after years of being away. Why do I think this church will make a huge impact? I grew up in the valley and if Legacy Church is going to be anything like Forefront, there's nothing like it for 100 miles. It's a passion that echoes with my own heart of pulling out all the stops when it comes to changing lives. I'm looking forward to being involved and networking however I can. It's exciting stuff for this area.
The Baltimore Project (Captivate Christian Church). Tally has been a trench buddy - one of the guys I mentioned yesterday. We've been through stuff together and watching each others ministry journey has been a ride. He hooked us up with the Charm City Church in Baltimore where we were this past summer. He's planting a church outside Baltimore with the goal of captivating that city. I'm excited to see God blow that up! Why I think he'll succeed: He's spending a lot of time preparing. In fact right now he's touring the south hanging out with, in my opinion, some of the coolest people around in church ministry with the intent of just listening. His passion for the city where he grew up will fuel life-change in a big way. He's got an awesome blog too - tallywilgis.com.
These are 2 church plants that are on my mind daily and I can't wait to have a part in in some way. Visit their sites and get to know them. This is time with spending on a cause worth dying for.
November 19, 2008 at 4:19 PM
Hey man,
thanks for the props. I'll give ya a shout about hooking up over Thanksgiving! Talk to ya soon bro!