Mississippi Valley Baptist Church
Well, by now it is no secret that things did not work out at the church that hired me and brought me to Davenport. After five weeks of work I resigned after being hit with a firestorm of criticism I had no warning was on the way. You had to be there.
But I believe all things happen for a reason. I believe God moved me to Davenport and left me with no church for a purpose. This past Tuesday as I prayed the idea of planting a new church in Davenport began to grow in my mind. I started making some contacts and researching resources and found that such a thing was more than possible. Today, I started touching base with those folks who would form the center of the "core group" at the church. I found no barriers at all to the work. Everyone I talked to was enthusiastic to support it.
In Davenport and Bettendorf, the two cities on the Iowa side of the Mississippi River, there are two Southern Baptist churches. There is one in Davenport, and one in Bettendorf, reaching approximately 200,000 people. I saw the possibility to plant a new work and never compete with either of the two existing churches.
There is much work yet to do. I have to talk with the Associational Missionary and the folks at the state convention office. Friends of mine from all over the country are already praying for this new work.
So, sometime before December, we will hold the first services of the newly forming Mississippi Valley Baptist Church in Davenport. I will be shifting from being a full time pastor to be a bi-vocational pastor/church planter. These are big changes for me and my family. Pray for us as God brings us to your mind. Our intent is to grow the church mostly by evangelism and missions. I have received initial commitments from about 20 people who are willing to be involved in this new work. Pray for them. There is a lot to do but then, there is a lot to be done for the Lord. Pray for me. I am not young and making a change like this at my age is not an easy thing. Hold us (my wife and I), I beg you, and the congregation of the new Mississippi Valley Baptist Church up in your prayers. Lord knows, we need it.
Well, by now it is no secret that things did not work out at the church that hired me and brought me to Davenport. After five weeks of work I resigned after being hit with a firestorm of criticism I had no warning was on the way. You had to be there.
But I believe all things happen for a reason. I believe God moved me to Davenport and left me with no church for a purpose. This past Tuesday as I prayed the idea of planting a new church in Davenport began to grow in my mind. I started making some contacts and researching resources and found that such a thing was more than possible. Today, I started touching base with those folks who would form the center of the "core group" at the church. I found no barriers at all to the work. Everyone I talked to was enthusiastic to support it.
In Davenport and Bettendorf, the two cities on the Iowa side of the Mississippi River, there are two Southern Baptist churches. There is one in Davenport, and one in Bettendorf, reaching approximately 200,000 people. I saw the possibility to plant a new work and never compete with either of the two existing churches.
There is much work yet to do. I have to talk with the Associational Missionary and the folks at the state convention office. Friends of mine from all over the country are already praying for this new work.
So, sometime before December, we will hold the first services of the newly forming Mississippi Valley Baptist Church in Davenport. I will be shifting from being a full time pastor to be a bi-vocational pastor/church planter. These are big changes for me and my family. Pray for us as God brings us to your mind. Our intent is to grow the church mostly by evangelism and missions. I have received initial commitments from about 20 people who are willing to be involved in this new work. Pray for them. There is a lot to do but then, there is a lot to be done for the Lord. Pray for me. I am not young and making a change like this at my age is not an easy thing. Hold us (my wife and I), I beg you, and the congregation of the new Mississippi Valley Baptist Church up in your prayers. Lord knows, we need it.
posted by John | Sunday, October 29, 2006
1 Comments:
As someone who helped plant a church (not the pastor), I know some of the struggles ahead for you. I will be keeping you and your family in my prayers.
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