Mark Driscoll » Mission Church Prayer Church Planting Acts 29

One of the things we like to do at Resurgence is equip, encourage, and pray for pastors and leaders in various churches around the world. This week we are glad to introduce you to Pastor Chan Kilgore and CrossPointe Church.

The Acts 29 Church Planting Network started as a series of conversations between me and Dr. David Nicholas, who was the pastor of Spanish River Church in Boca Raton, Florida. He and the church have always generously supported church planting around the U.S. and the world. I can still remember the day we were sitting over lunch in Florida, discussing how to more effectively evangelize lost people and plant churches, when he said we should call it “Acts 29,” as a continuation of the Holy Spirit’s work in Acts.

The name stuck, and Acts 29 was born. It was my job to try to gather a lot of young potential church planters, and it was David’s job to also help raise funds and to provide wise counsel for young planters. He and his church generously launched Acts 29, hosting it for the first years, and without their generosity it would have never come into existence.

The Acts 29 Church Planting Network started as a series of conversations

Some years later, when I inherited the leadership of Acts 29, the amount of generosity and service shown by David and his church became increasingly clear, and I will always be grateful for their faithfulness to the mission of Jesus. David has since finished his race on earth and is enjoying Jesus’ kingdom today.

Our first big event for Acts 29 was a boot camp at sea. We held it on a cruise ship that departed from Florida. Once we were in international waters, the 9/11 terrorist attacks hit. We were trying to evaluate a small group of potential church planters as our first class of recruits while watching international drama unfold on the television, far away from our country and concerned for our families. It was a tense time.

One of the handful of first planting recruits who was with us on that ship for our first-ever Acts 29 boot camp was Chan Kilgore. David was a pastor to him, and Chan and I quickly became friends. Since that time, Chan and his wife Stacy have grown to be genuine friends to Grace and me. We love and appreciate this family very much. Chan, like David, has proven to have a massive heart for evangelism and church planting, and he is continuously investing in young leaders and new ministries. Today it is a great joy to ask you to be praying for our friends. Here’s their story.

A vision for Florida

Captivated by a dream to “plant a church that would point people to Jesus Christ,” Pastor Chan and his wife departed from South Florida for Orlando in 2001 to start CrossPointe Church.

Along with help of two additional families and the support of the Spanish River Church Planting Network, the church opened its doors to their first public service in a YMCA in 2002. God has poured out his grace and grown the church from these humble beginnings to include six churches in Florida and one in Georgia.

Pastor Chan has a massive heart for evangelism and church planting

“Our single greatest prayer as a church,” says Pastor Chan, “is that we see the transformation of Orlando and Central Florida by the power of the gospel for the glory of God.” He continues, “God has given us a vision to plant 20 CrossPointe congregations throughout Central Florida . . . We currently have seven congregations. This year we will plant two more by God’s grace.”

Join us in prayer

CrossPointe Church’s vision is “To see the beauty, harmony, and wholeness of God’s Kingdom reign in our lives and in our communities, as the Gospel radially orients us to Jesus and his mission of renewing the world.” Join us in prayer for CrossPointe Church as they labor by the grace of God to point people to Jesus. Here’s how they asked us to pray for them:

1. “Pray that God would continue to pour out his spirit upon us as a church so that we can make much of Jesus and continue to see lost people come to Christ.”
2. “Pray that God would continue to send us Jesus-loving men who are gifted to plant new churches.”
3. “Pray that God would provide our congregations with permanent facilities so that we can be a strong presence in our city.”
4. “Pray that God would continue to bless our elders with unity and wisdom to lead Jesus’ church.”

 

« Newer Older »