Sovereignty and Sensitivity Part Two (My Multi-Site Journey)

As I mentioned at the end of my last blog, I believe God was already preparing the next step of our fellowship’s multi-site journey about 23 ½ hours after we took our first step! Actually, He gave me an indication that something along this line might be coming our way a couple of months before.

During the holiday season before January 2011, I had breakfast with a Church planting consultant in our area. Our conservation began with a few questions about our ministry and my recent books, Reaching the Next Level. Then he asked if our fellowship would be open to working with another Church in some creative way in light of our multi-site thinking.

While I assured him that we were always open to God’s will, I must admit that I was nervous about this idea. I firmly believe in the autonomy of the local Church. Our fellowship was simply trying to follow God’s lead for us; every other fellowship had to follow God’s lead for them.

Well, as I mentioned above, about 23 ½ hours after we officially decided to call our Nations location our first multi-site campus, I received a phone call. The person on the other end of the line was a leader in the fellowship the Church planting consultant mentioned to me a couple of months earlier. Although we could not meet immediately, we did schedule a meeting later that week. Of course, I didn’t know why he wanted to meet with me, but I figured that a multi-site opportunity might surface in our conversation.

As we talked, this lay-leader shared with me how their fellowship had been struggling. They had a building on six acres of land across from one of the largest high schools in our parish (this is Louisiana!). Yet, they could not understand why the ministry was not growing as they envisioned. He told me that their fellowship was ready to make the painful decision to disband, and they wanted to know if Woodland Park would be interested using their location as a multi-site campus.

Immediately, I sensed that God was showing us the next move for our journey of faith. Just as God parted the flooded Jordan only after the Israelite priests stood in the water (Joshua 3:15b-16), the Lord was opening another door for us since we were willing to trust Him in taking our first step of faith. However, this second step of faith was going to be a little more involved for two reasons.

First, it was going to “cost” something. The balance on the facility and property was about $105,000.00, but the current fellowship was very gracious. All they asked was for us to assume the balance of the loan, and they voted to give their entire savings of about $10,000.00 toward the loan. Basically, God provided the building and land for approximately $95,000.00. So our Church made a pretty aggressive move of faith. We paid about $45,000.00 immediately and borrowed against our own contingency fund to cover the other $50,000.00.

Second, it was going to take time to prayerfully discern God’s direction. While we began outreach events to high school students across the road from the new building, we did not begin services at the new facility immediately. We wanted to wait on God in prayer. There were several questions we didn’t know answers to. For example, how were we going to “staff” the new work? When were the services going to take place? What was the expression of the ministry going to look like?

All these were important questions that needed to be answered, but we didn’t know the answers as the journey began. Yet, here is what we did know: If God was leading us, He was going to direct us on the details. We knew God wanted to use the Body of Believers for the works of service (Ephesians 4:11-13). We knew He was going to provide answers for the details as we followed Him. We knew that His Spirit was going to impact lives for the Kingdom.

And God has been faithful! As mentioned above, we began a few outreach events to high school students. Also, we were approached by another ministry in the community who needed a place to meet during the summer months for their Cowboy Church services. They began using the building on Sunday nights, and the Lord allowed us to be a blessing to their work.

On the “provision” front, we realized a few months after we made the decision to move forward with this multi-site opportunity, we had extra funds which allowed us to satisfy our financial obligations for the balance of the loan. Lastly, after months of waiting on the Lord, one of our staff members sensed that he was willing to transition into the campus pastoral role at the new site. So we put together and approved a plan for his transition, and he led a core group of Believers to organize the new work over the course of a few months. Then on Christmas day (2011), the first official service was held at the River Road campus with about 100 people in attendance. In the weeks following, their attendance has held at a very solid level.

As I look back over this second step in our multi-site journey, a few insights seem clear to me:

• Walking by faith calls us to take action while we trust. I believe God didn’t open the second opportunity until after we walked through the first door of opportunity.

• It’s been well-said that where God guides, God provides. Of course, this covers both our financial decision and our staffing decision. “Hind-sight” reveals to me that God already had the entire amount of the building and land and the staffing plan covered before we even made the decision to follow Him. We simply had to obey God and prayerfully seek Him.

• Remain focused on God’s Kingdom. Although the Cowboy Church outreach (which is still meeting at our River Road campus) isn’t technically a part of our fellowship, they are a part of God’s Kingdom work in our community. We are on the same “team” with all who partner with us to proclaim the Gospel to the lost.

We are on a journey of faith! We don’t know everything God has planned, but He does. Isaiah 46:10 says, “I make known the end from the beginning, from ancient times, what is still to come. I say: My purpose will stand, and I will do all that I please” (NIV).

Basically, God is eternal and sovereign. We may not know what awaits us around the next bend in the road, but God knows the “end from the beginning.” So we can trust the Lord as we follow Him (Proverbs 3:5-7). He is leading us for the glory of His name!