Come Over Here and Help Us!

Then they went from town to town, instructing the believers to follow the decisions made by the apostles and elders in Jerusalem. So the churches were strengthened in their faith and grew larger every day. Next, Paul and Silas traveled through the area of Phrygia and Galatia, because the Holy Spirit had prevented them from preaching the word in the province of Asia at that time. Then coming to the borders of Mysia, they headed north for the province of Bithynia, but again the Spirit of Jesus did not allow them to go there. So instead, they went on through Mysia to the seaport of Troas. That night Paul had a vision: A man from Macedonia in northern Greece was standing there, pleading with him, “Come over to Macedonia and help us!” So we decided to leave for Macedonia at once, having concluded that God was calling us to preach the Good News there. - Acts 16:4-10

“Come over to Macedonia and help us!” What a powerful and yet oft neglected verse of the New Testament. 

In North America the church of Jesus Christ has taken a real hit. Some of the loss is self-inflicted - other things beyond our control have also stymied us over the past few decades. It’s true and indisputable - the “church” has been losing “members” for decades now. The decline is evident - both numerically and, unfortunately, spiritually.

Yet, one wonders if we should be viewing this from a different perspective.

In other words, is this the opportunity we have been praying for? To quote a teacher from long ago: are “the fields white with harvest?”

We believe they are.

Which is why, after years of praying and wondering, Missy and I are (as an AARP-aged couple no less) answering the call to plant a church. We have heard the call come from “Macedonia:” “Come over here and help us!”

God has spoken clearly to us. His Holy Spirit has been directing and leading us all along the way. We have seen a great need and have a desire to fill it. Answering our “Macedonian call,” Missy and I are moving to Alabama to plant a church on the Eastern Side of Mobile Bay.

And God has already been opening doors for us to walk through.

We would like to take some time to explain to you what God is calling us to do…

First off, this will not be a traditional church plant as you might be thinking. We are looking to focus on only three things:
    Fellowship (lots and lots of time together!)
    Discipleship (spending lots of time doing in depth Bible study and the other spiritual disciplines)
    Service (our love for God should reveal itself in our love for others. Period)

Secondly, we will not be seeking to build a church numerically. We will not be focused on numbers. That is the way of the world. We will not care about numbers. We will care about people.

Also, we will not have a budget. (We know, some of your heads are spinning right now.)There will be no overhead for us. Each week we will take whatever funds are given, and collectively as a group agree to whom/what we will be sending our gifts to. Then we will turn around and immediately be a blessing to someone. 

Furthermore, we will not worry one second about trying something new out...you know, doing something different. We will not be caged by tradition or a "This is the way we have always done it!" mentality. Rather, we will be free to place new wine into new wineskins.

Now. What will be our aim?

We will focus on growing people. We will keep our primary concern on seeing people mature in Christ and growing closer to God. We will invest our time in them - via Bible studies, small group ministries, prayer groups, and service groups.

We will train people to be leaders. If there is a shortage of anything in Christ’s church it is leadership. But, to be a leader of others you must first be a follower of Jesus. Therefore, one of our aims will be to teach others to become leaders.

We will train others to be leaders so they may then go out and serve. We do not want people to just gather - we want to gather so then we will “go.” We desire to take to others what has been given to us.

We will serve together. That’s one thing that we cannot wait to do - Missy and I understood and accepted as co-pastors. Both of us. Together. A team. And, our fellowship will recognize it as well.

And all the while, we will do all things in joy. Fellowship, koinonia, will be a hallmark of who we are and what we do. Think of it this way: lots of food, lots of laughter, lots of sharing, lots of playing games, lots of just hanging out at the local high school activities...fun times!

Some people call what we are going to do “marketplace ministry.” That’s not a bad way of looking at it. We will both be working normal jobs. We will not look to ask people to come to us…we will be going to them. Kind of like Jesus and the disciples in the New Testament.

And maybe that last sentence explains best what God has laid upon our hearts. We want to do what we read and see in the New Testament. We want to be like Jesus. As Paul writes, “Follow me as I follow Christ.” May that be said of us all.

Please be in prayer for us. Please ask God to continue to lead us. Please ask God to anoint us with his Holy Spirit. Please seek for God’s favor to be upon us as we reach out to those he places in our path. May God use us all for his glory…