Creative Scribble

Thinking back over the past six months or so of getting things going for OneLife Church proves how much God is in complete control. I’ve been reminding myself of these over the past week when things don’t go according to plan and I start to feel like “what are we going to do now?” So here are some of those things that God has done to remind me who’s in charge.

Facilities – The single biggest surprise came when it was time to ask the high school if we could meet there. There isn’t a more perfect facility for a church like ours to use so I was all nerved up about it because of all the horror stories I had heard about schools not working with churches. But when the time came, my conversation with the principle lasted all of 30 seconds before he said “I don’t see why not as long as we can get you a custodian.” Other churches before us couldn’t convince a custodian to do it. We not only got a custodian, we got two.

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Money – Every single time we have needed money, God has provided. We needed $30,000 to purchase our trailer and equipment when a sponsoring church suddenly decided to give us $20,000. I worried about the other $10,000 and in less than two weeks it came in like clockwork from individuals wanting to help. Early on we had an opportunity to save a ton of money on monitors for the sound system but still needed the $1200 to buy them. That week we got a surprise check in the mail for $1500. In what has been the worst economy in more than 25 years we have still deposited $58,000 in funds raised and only need $8,000 more to get started. That’s amazing!

People – Six months ago OneLife Church consisted of me, my wife Harrison, Tyler, and my redbone coonhound Ellie. I knew God wanted a church here but didn’t know who in the world was crazy enough to come on board. Since then we have gathered nearly 20 adults for our launch team and have others deciding if it’s what they’re supposed to do. It’s a great group that I couldn’t be more excited about.

Equipment – We had a company that helps new churches put us a package together of everything we would need from the nursery to the sound system. Their quote came in at more than $90,000! I was stressed. Then one Saturday I just happened to run across a church advertising a similar package for sell at a killer price because it was a year old. The ad had only been online for a matter of days so I emailed the pastor. Long story short we were the first to bite on it and as soon as we agreed to the purchase they got all kinds of emails from people. God worked that out just for us.

Training – One of my favorite pastors that I have never met but respect and have learned from via podcasts blogged about a coaching network he was going to do. It was open to only 15 senior pastors and I knew that guys from all over the US would apply. I applied and nearly forgot about it, expecting to get looked over. But God must want me to continue learning and growing in my leadership because I’ll be taking part this fall. I was totally shocked that I was chosen and absolutely can’t wait to see how I learn and grow.

To wrap up this unusually long blog, let me just say this: Thank you Lord! For two years I have been planning, praying, and working toward what is about to happen through OneLife Church. God has given me a vision and a plan for reaching unchurched people that I am confident in and have taken some pretty big risks to make happen. Seeing Him prove that He is still in control through these circumstances has been incredible. It gives me the confidence to know that He is the source of all that I need and the hope to know that more surprises are definitely in store.