the beginnings of a church plant

On the outside, it looks like this church planting process began sometime in October because that is when Gina and I transitioned out of LifeChurch.tv after over four years of serving there. The transition was a difficult season emotionally, but even in the midst of it, we sensed God moving us on to something different. But, that “something” wasn’t necessarily new because this idea to plant a church wasn’t born in a moment; it has grown over time. That is how God works. In the Scriptures, you can see time and time again where God fulfills a promise made years before. It started with Abraham, then Noah, then Moses, then David…right up to Paul in the New Testament. God plants a desire in the heart of man; man journeys with God through the good and the bad, times of obedience and disobedience, until God fulfills His promise. Granted the “fulfillment of the promise” doesn’t always look like we think should look: Paul was called to Rome and he got there…in chains … and that was after being shipwrecked and left for dead once or twice along the way. Yet, God fulfilled Paul’s desire as Paul walked faithfully with God. (Psalm 37:4)

So it is with this church plant.  As I have begun to think about the culture we want to create and what we want to be about, I am constantly reminded of what God has shown me along the way. From ministry structure to core values to worship style, I have been, to some degree, planting this church in my mind over a period of several years. During that time, I have been fortunate enough to be taught by some of the best Christian leaders today and a thing or two has rubbed off. Now, God has surrounded me with some great people who are speaking into this process and many who are supporting us in a variety of ways. I know many of you reading this fall into this category.

So, the launch of day|twelve has not, is not, and will not be a gathering that happens at some point in the future; the launch has already begun.  (don’t worry…Sunday gatherings will be a part of what we do! ; )) In the next few blog posts I will write a few thoughts on core values and other things I hope will make up the ethos (thanks Erwin) of day|twelve …