This weekend we're celebrating our first birthday... yes there will be cake! It's hard to believe that a year has gone by... it seems like yesterday that I sat down with the pastor at my old church and told him I believed God wanted me to plant a church here in Auburn so people who were disconnected from God and the church could be transformed into passionate Christ followers. I remember sitting across the table with people and casting vision for Journey Church... I had a lot of breakfast and lunch meetings... and I gained a lot of weight... but it was all worth it because God gave us the right people to launch Journey Church. I can't believe it was just a year ago when the 13 of us in my living room, with nothing more than a vision from God and a passion for people opened the doors of our church...Man time flies when you're having fun!
Over this past year we've had the highest of highs... launch day I cried because I wondered if anyone would show up... they did! (of course every week I still wonder that same thing) We've seen people commit their lives to Jesus Christ and be baptized... we've seen our growth groups multiply 3 times! We've also had to deal with the lowest of the lows... the death of Sonja's mom, the break in and burglary of our home... but all through that, God has been incredibly faithful.
I admit that who we are becoming doesn't look quite like what I envisioned in our church planting proposal... because my vision was WAY TOO SMALL! This year God has given us an opportunity to reach a much more diverse crowd economically, racially, politically and spiritually... I never would have dreamed it! And, to be honest, I once longed to speak at church planters conferences about the success of my church... but God has shifted my focus...I get to lead a church that is going into it's second year with momentum, excitement and anticipation of what God might do in us and through us.
Proverbs 20:24 is a great verse to describe the past year of Journey and it will help us as we follow God's vision for building our church over the next year...
"The Lord directs our steps, so why try to understand EVERYTHING along the way?"
I laugh every time I read this verse because it NAILS ME! I DON'T have to understand or overanalyze or control everything... To lead our church into it's second year, I've got to be Faithful and Fearless to step into the unknown, trusting that I've heard from God and He's directing every step we take...
If I have to understand everything before we make a move... we never would have launched. I'm incredibly blessed to have you guys at Journey that are willing to step into the unknown and not always understand everything, just that God wants to use us to reach Auburn, Opelika, Lee County and the World... How will we do that? I don't know exactly... I do have some ideas that you'll hear about over the next few months... Until then... let's continue to celebrate what God has done in our first year, and get ready for what He's going to do in year 2!
Happy Birthday!
Posted by: Dave Anderson (moviepastor) | August 17, 2007 at 09:47 AM
Happy Birthday!
Posted by: Dave Anderson (moviepastor) | August 17, 2007 at 09:47 AM
Happy Birthday!
Posted by: Dave Anderson (moviepastor) | August 17, 2007 at 09:47 AM