Over 4 years ago, God placed a dream inside of Dara and I to plant a church. Along with that dream was a clear call to stay faithful at our current church, Calvary Assembly (Winter Park, FL). Over the past 4 years we have learned so much. About life. About ministry. We have loved our church and the people that God allowed us to have in our world.

In December of 2007, I met Mike Field. He was making a move to Charlotte to plant a church. We connected really well right off the bat, and before I knew it, Dara and I were in Charlotte talking to him about the possibility of partnering with him.

The dream that God had placed in our hearts 4 years ago has become a reality. In June of 2008, Dara and I will be moving (along with our little brood of children) to Charlotte to plant Hope Church. We are working with Mike Field (20+ years of pastoral ministry) and Sam Farina (30+ years of international evangelism experience). Dara and I will be anchoring the “young” portion of this team 🙂

The dream of realizing Acts 2 community is so real to me. We get to start from scratch with a blank canvas. All the stuff that we love about church goes on the canvas. All the stuff that we don’t like never has to enter into the picture. We are talking about ideas that are out of the box…trying to hear God’s voice for the direction of the Church in the future. I love this because I really believe that we can be a part of something that is new. Something fresh. It doesn’t have to look the same as everything else. It can be us. It can be real. It can bring Hope.

That’s our vision…to bring Hope to the Charlotte community. Everything we do will go through that filter. You’ll find me playing music all over Charlotte. Bars. Clubs. Coffeehouses. Outdoor pavilions. God didn’t give me the gift of music just for the church…he gave it to me to connect with people, as well. I’m so excited to do what Jesus did…hang out with people where they are at…not waiting for them to come to us.

We are doing a team preaching concept. Mike, Sam and I will all have a voice on the series that we preach. We are a team and the team concept will drive our leadership of the church. Mike is the lead (because someone has to have the final say), but we will operate from a position of team. There is wisdom in the council of wise men. The three of us come from different perspectives, but we love and honor each other.

This is the most exciting thing I have ever been a part of in my life. I can’t believe our dream is becoming a reality. We are finishing out the Master’s Commission year (graduation is May 24) and then will be moving to Charlotte in June. We have no guarantees (have to raise our own salary and benefits for the first year) and no safety net…other than the only safety net that matters: God.

He has called us to this. He will provide. Dara and I are so blessed…so excited… to be a part of this.

More to come later…