I sat on my couch completely terrified, staring at a stack of addressed envelopes. I was just about to send out a request to every person I knew asking them to financially support our dream to start a church in Charlotte. And I was absolutely freaking out.
That’s when God started to speak to me. “This is only the beginning. It’s like lifting weights. The amount that you are requesting right now is small in comparison to what you are going to need to raise in the future. This process of raising your salary will prepare you for the future.” I wanted to throw up.
Two years later, God has supplied every one of our needs. Two years of salary and the cost of starting a new church. All covered by God’s amazing provision. All through the incredible generosity of so many people across the country.
I feel that moment again. But this time my faith is stronger.
God has placed a dream in our hearts to open up a coffeehouse/venue in Uptown Charlotte. Amazing lattes. Great music. After school programs. Community activities. Anything you can imagine using a coffeehouse and 150+ seat venue, we will be able to accommodate. But it costs money. A lot of money. And I am still a bit overwhelmed by the thought. But my confidence in God has never been stronger.
Two years ago, I began “lifting weights” in my faith. As I continued to break down, realizing that I could not do this on my own, I realized that God was building me up. I was seeing that through God, I can accomplish every task he puts before me.
We now find ourselves at another moment of faith. We are getting closer to embracing a new season of fundraising for an absolutely huge project. The weights are getting heavier, but it’s a weight that we can now lift because of the two years of training that God has brought us through.
I am so grateful for every moment of breaking down that we experienced. Just like lifting weights, we must be broken down to get stronger. Weightlifting and crazy faith. The two go hand in hand.
