Lessons learned from planting a church

So much for posting every week, right?  Many of you that read this blog regularly (can I really say that if I have had a post in more than 3 months?) know that a little less than 4 years ago, Mary and I followed God’s lead to help her brother, Michael, start a church in Hendersonville, TN.  At the time, I was about the last person you would expect to help get a church started.  Recently, after much discussion and prayer, we decided as a church to take the next step in faith and stop meeting as a formal church.  This was certainly not our plan from the beginning, but that’s the most important of many lessons I’ve learned since following God’s lead 4 years ago.

When we started Peace Community Church we all had grand plans of what it could become.  Our goal was to reach out to our community and offer a place that anyone could come and learn what it means to be a true follower of Christ.  We all knew people that for some reason or another weren’t involved in a growing relationship with Christ and that passion motivated us to start and grow our church.  We certainly didn’t expect to cease to exist as a church in less than five years!  But that’s where God showed us who was really in charge all along.  He has shown us through this that despite our best efforts and motives, we can’t fully know or comprehend what to expect when we surrender to Him and obey His calling. The more time I spend thinking about PCC and what I can take away from that experience, the more I realize that God has us all in certain places for a period of time  for HIS purposes, not our own.

I told Michael recently that if I were standing before God today and where held accountable for my involvement with PCC, I could be confident that we pursued His will, taught His Word and focused on showing and sharing His love to our community and around the world.  That’s not just psychological speak to make myself feel better or justification for why an endeavor ultimately failed.  I’ve learned through this that God has us in places and around people for seasons in life and it’s up to us to make the most out of those opportunities until we’re called on to the next task.  When we started this church, it wasn’t guaranteed to us that we’d be around forever.  Most of us grew up in churches that had been around for generations.  I believe that we took that for granted and expected our church to do the same.  After all, we were following God’s lead and were obedient to where and what He called us to do, wouldn’t He bless our works in return?  Maybe so, but longevity was never a part of that deal and I can sit here today and look back and see how much God was able to accomplish through a small group of committed believers.

So, the first lesson I’ve learned through my experience is that God is ultimately in control.  While it’s true that I’ve seen evidence of this in my life on several other occasions, this experience has been singularly significant.    I made goals and had dreams for God and about God without completely including God.  I made assumptions along the way and with God you can’t assume because He is omnipotent.  God had us at Peace Community Church for a purpose and maybe part of that I won’t know this side of eternity.  Finally, I’m at peace with that and I’m moving on to the next lesson.