It’s been way too long since I’ve sent out any kind of update here. But that length of time is in no way reflective of God’s work. He’s been actively kind to our family and to Gospel Hope Church. I’ll briefly share the highlights.
Church Website
Thanks to some helpful church members, Gospel Hope Church officially has a website. We intend to build it out as we progress, but it’s great to have a place to point people if they’d like to find out more information or give financial support.
Check it out here! —> gospelhopenc.org
Church Partners
I’ve had the privilege to speak at several churches and expand our church partners. While it’s been hard to be away from our Redeemer church family, the Lord has really used this to remind me of his work in the hearts of his people everywhere.
At every stop, I’ve had people say they pray for our family and Gospel Hope Church regularly. I’ve had people tell me they’ve been praying about joining our church plant before I even know they existed! King Jesus has truly gone before us and it is a wonderful blessing to see him at work.
We Bought a House!
After a season of looking and waiting, the Lord provided a home for us in Greenville! We close on December 1, and we couldn’t be more excited. It’s right in the heart of town with easy access to everything. While there’s still some work to be done, we are grateful for the Lord’s provision.
Our prayer is that this home will serve as a place where we can show meaningful hospitality to those in need of a warm, loving (albeit hectic) environment.
Upcoming Interest Night
On Thursday, November 9, Redemption Church in Wilson is hosting an Interest Dinner and Meeting for us. During this time, Jackie and I will share our stories, then I’ll lay out a vision for Gospel Hope Church. I’m praying that the Lord would use this to help us gather a committed group of believers to help us establish this church plant.
Sign-up and find more info here at the link below!
Interest Dinner & Meeting | Nov 9
What’s Next?
This week is the final week of my traveling and preaching for the year. We’ll be at Immanuel Church in Winterville, NC. By God’s grace, he’s opened up a door for our family and church plant to land here once we move to Greenville.
Our plan is to serve and worship here as we make final preparations for starting Gospel Hope in 2024. This week will be my first time meeting the church as a whole, so I’m praying the Lord might bless our time together.
Over the next few months, I’ll continue to do the hard work (for me anyway) of recruiting folks to our core team and fundraising for the church. Lord willing, we’ll move to our new home in Greenville around February/March of 2024.
After we get to Greenville, I’ll spend much of my time in the community praying, meeting people, and telling them about Jesus. I’ll also continue to gather other Christians to join Gospel Hope Church as we hope to start public gatherings in the fall of 2024.
Some Housekeeping
If you’ve made it this far, congrats! I wanted to wrap up by letting you know my plan for future communication. I plan to continue writing (hopefully more often) here on my Substack.
However, future church plant communications and updates will be coming from a different place called Mailchimp. It’s a great tool for churches to send out mass emails.
I’ve already got your email address, so there’s no need to resubscribe. Since my last update here was in July, you probably don’t need to worry about me cluttering your inbox with too many emails. If you have any questions about any of that, please feel free to reach out!
Please Keep Praying!
I’ve never felt the need for prayer more than these last few months. I’ve also never felt the prayers of God’s people more than this time. Thank you for your kindness in praying for us, but we need you to keep on keeping on! Here’s a brief list of requests:
Pray for me as I meet and preach at Immanuel Church this Sunday.
Pray for our upcoming Interest Meeting on November 9.
Pray for us as we close on our house on December 1.
Pray for God to grow our core team spiritually and numerically.
Pray for God to bring in financial supporters from churches and individuals.
Pray for our family as we’ve had a lot of sickness lately. We’re very tired and needy for God’s grace.
Thank you and God bless you.
Congratulations 🙏❤️