:: AIP#4 - How the Journey Started (part 2) ::

In yesterday's post, I began explaining the journey that's brought us to this point of planting The City Church - specifically, it started with a phone call last summer. But in reality, this is something that God has been preparing us for for years:

Even in middle and high school (and probably even earlier), I had a passion for "creating" - art; design; lots of music - I was writing songs by age 12 (Beethoven was too; I promise his were significantly better than mine!). In high school I built a couple of extracurricular organizations, and among other things in college, I joined the team for Baylor's "Welcome Week," creating a week-long experience for incoming students. At the same time, leadership was something that seemed to come naturally to me - class president from 8th grade on; student body president in high school; student government at Baylor; etc. These things seemed to excite me and just seemed to "click" - which was good, as I was never all that great at sports.

In college, these creativity and leadership collided into ministry: after leading a retreat for high school boys after my senior year of high school, I was asked to build a student ministry from nothing at a little church in a suburb of Waco (yes, a suburb of Waco!). Now I got to use my creativity and leadership as I built something for the name and glory of God! I discovered that ministry gave me passion and excitement like nothing I'd ever been involved with, so I devoted my life to it. Since then, my "niche" in ministry has revolved around these things, creating and leading: after the initial student ministry, I got to create a college ministry (I was in college at the time, so I quickly handed it off), then created and led a new all-church service at the church in Waco. When I graduated, I joined the staff at a brand new church plant in Fort Worth, where I again had the opportunity to again build out a student ministry and college ministry, as well as develop classes, seminars, Film and Theology nights, and a membership process, help with overall vision and teaching, and really learn the behind-the-scenes of how ministry can work.

I don't say any of things to brag or to create a nice little “look at Ben” moment – I know no one will remember any of them, and what I created will only last for a few years - at best for my lifetime; then they'll be replaced or lost. So, as Paul did when he listed his accomplishments, "I count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ" (Phil 3:8). Instead, I list them as part of the journey - to show some glimpses of the last several years, and some of the many experiences God has allowed, each of which have taught, shaped, and grown me to this point. Whether it’s creating ministries, crafting sermons, writing curriculum, experimenting with music- and song-writing, making videos, or whatever else God lets me get my hands on, he's taught me, led me, and molded me every step of the way! It’s part of who he's created me to be, and the fact that God allows me to use these passions (and I think, gifts?) for his name and his purposes is a huge and humbling honor!

To wrap up: about three years ago, I was driving into downtown Fort Worth and noticed the huge amounts of growth happening there (specifics on that in a later post). The thought crossed my mind that if new folks were moving into downtown, and if the domographics were different than most of the churches there, someone needed to start a Bible-preaching, Gospel-centered church there. I didn't think much more about it at the time, but it's been in the back of my mind ever since. Plus Jess and I share a love for adventure; a vision for what a different kind of church could look like; we continue to grow in our trust of God for provision and leadership; we have a heart for the unreached; and we love this city. So we talked about it a lot last summer, I had the great phone call mentioned in part 1, and we were propelled into the world of church planting!

My next post will explain what's happened since last summer, but since it's a holiday weekend, it will wait 'til Monday. In the meantime, hope you have a safe, fun 4th of July weekend, and as a little "holiday bonus," here's a picture of The City Church's logo. While the logo is actually a visual representation of the church's structure (which I'll explain next week), it looks very much like a firework over Fort Worth, so I figured it was the perfect time to share it, in a little "4th of July" spirit! Keep sending thoughts, questions, etc., and have a great long weekend!