The Journey So Far…

Sometime in the latter half of 2009, I began to suspect God was calling me to plant a church.  This suspicion has been confirmed in a number of ways in the past several months.

In August I was invited to preach in the Tallahassee area at an installation service for an old friend.  My wife, Deborah, and I grew up in the area, her family still lives close by, and we both have many friends there, so it was a homecoming for us.  While there, we were invited out to coffee by my life-long friend David.  David asked about my future ministry plans.  I told him I believed God was calling me to plant a church.  David then said he and his wife had sensed God may be calling them to become part of a church start-up team.  We have both continued to discuss, pray, and talk to others about this calling and believe God is working in Tallahassee.

In further confirmation of this calling, I spoke with several pastors in my denomination (PCA) in Jacksonville.  In November, they sent Deborah and me through a Church Planter’s Assessment Center in Atlanta.  At the conclusion of the assessment week, we received a provisional recommendation to plant a church.

In January, I went back to Tallahassee to meet with some local PCA pastors and share my growing vision to plant a church on the east/southeast side of Tallahassee.  Over the months, I had observed a lot of community development taking place but had also observed how few churches there were to minister to the new communities.  Our discussions were very encouraging and before the conclusion of our meeting one pastor asked, “So how do we take this conversation to the next level?”  It was agreed I should speak to the Gulf Coast Presbytery’s church planting committee and also attend the upcoming presbytery meeting in February.

In February, I met via teleconference with the church planting committee and was again encouraged by what I heard.  To be fair, I was also warned the budget for new church plants was stretched beyond thin.  However, I was also made aware of the committee’s 10-year interest in planting a church in southeast Tallahassee.  A week later I stood before the Gulf Coast Presbytery and shared my faith story and vision for a community in southeast Tallahassee named SouthWood.  The presbytery was very welcoming of me and equally encouraging of my vision.

At the present time I’m preparing to go to Tallahassee on Thursday, March 25 and present my vision to some local churches and church leaders.  At those meetings, I will be looking for church oversight as well as some funding.  What I’m looking for is a mother/daughter church planting relationship for a broadly-based evangelical church to minister in SouthWood and the surrounding area.

Want to Help Write the Next Chapter of the Story?

There are three things we need:  (1) A prayer team.  I need prayer to confirm this calling and prayer for wisdom.  My desire is to go where God is working and be as useful as possible.  If God is working in southeast Tallahassee, I want to run to meet Him there!  (2) A launch team.  We need to find people in Tallahassee who agree with and will support a vision for the southeast side of town.  (3) A support team.  Most likely, I will need to raise $50,000 this year if we are going to move forward in Tallahassee.  These are tough economic times and many have warned me about the difficulties of such a monumental task.  However, I believe whatever God calls us to do He also equips us and supplies us to do.

Tough Times Require Courage

For several weeks, I’ve been meditating on Acts 4:13: When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus. There is something extraordinary about ordinary people who have been with Jesus—they are bold for Him!

Meditate on Acts 4:13 and pray this verse would become a reality in my life.  Check this page regularly or subscribe to my blog for updates.  If you’d like to join the team or discuss this vision, please click the “contact me” button in the footer of the page.

For His Kingdom,

Toby

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