:: AIP#1 - Starting the Countdown ::

Today's post is one that brings me great excitement. After nine years of ministry, two+ years of dreaming, a 10-month church planting process, six weeks of fully-devoted prayer and planning, a 20-page prospectus, and a few committed sponsors and individuals, today we publicly begin the countdown to our next great endeavor; to a mission and passion to which we see ourselves committing the rest of our lives...

Friends, family, and other devoted readers (ha), I'm ecstatic to announce the development of The City Church, a new church community coming to downtown Fort Worth and to neighborhoods across the city in 2010!

In conjunction with Acts 29 Church Planting Network (Seattle, WA), Providence Church (Frisco, TX), NorthWood Church (Keller, TX), some committed individuals, and other "partner-in-progress" organizations (TBA soon), we've been asking the question, “what would it look like if Christians in the heart of Fort Worth LIVED AS the church, instead of just GOING TO a church?” The simple answer was that it would look “different.” So we've been praying, dreaming, planning, seeking answers and input from great sources across the nation and world, history, and scripture, and looking at the needs and context of our great city. And now we're ready to move from hypothetical to reality. We're admittedly a little anxious, but excited, expectant, humbled, prayerful, and knowing that we’re on the brink of something great that God’s doing!

Over the coming weeks, this blog will serve as a documentary of our journey: nearly every day I'll be posting about this exciting adventure as we work toward planting a church. I'll explain the vision, mission, values, goals, and the groundwork we’re laying. I'll talk about how we got to this point; about what the future holds; about some exciting - and humorous - things that have already happened along the way; about the kingdom of God and the city of Fort Worth. And as this blogumentary unfolds, I invite questions - in fact, whether comments below or in an email/facebook message, I BEG your questions, thoughts, feedback, constructive criticism, and above all, your involvement.

I'll get into specifics of involvement in coming weeks, but whether you pray for us, join in the vision, and/or support us financially, the next steps involve followers of Christ, who are passionate about God’s church and who are passionate about this great city and its people, banding together and taking bold steps as we live out God’s age-old mission of redemption and reconciliation. We are excited as we look forward to living out that vision, and we hope that you will join this great endeavor!

I could go on, but for now, I'll close by asking for three things:

• First, please begin to pray - for Jess and me, spiritually and as a couple; for our boards of directors and advisers; that God would raise up leaders - committed folks to come alongside the vision; for financial support and for wisdom; against pride, sin, and other distractions; and for our city and the people we'll be engaging.
  
• Second, help spread the word - we find the church to be a family and a people, not an institution or an event, so we're not doing traditional "marketing." Instead, if what you see and hear over these months resonates with, excites, or intrigues you, please point folks to this blog, to our coming website and social media, and when the time comes, to our prayer and vision dinners later this summer and fall.
  
• Finally, please check back often - I'll document a new "adventure" every day or two through the summer. So follow along and stay up-to-date, even this week as I walk through our name and the beginnings of this journey.

Thank you in advance for your time, prayers, and consideration. Reply below, or contact me with questions, thoughts, ideas, feedback, etc. If you'd like a copy of the business plan/prospectus, I'd be happy to email you one. And we look forward to seeing what unique part you’ll play in The City Church!

Contact Ben: email [full website coming July '09] | facebook | twitter | email me for cell #