Bittersweet Day - Sending Out 50 to plant a new campus

Today is a bittersweet day... today is the last day downtown for around 50 people who will launch New City Church Warner Robins next Sunday night.

It is bitter because we love this group and watching it grow has been amazing. They have worked hard, given much, and served well in a city that isn't their home. They will be greatly missed.

It is sweet because so many in this group GET IT. They love their city and want to see the gospel advance and transform lives, and they know that the best way to see that happen is not by gathering in Macon, but by gathering in their own city. It is sweet because they are leading this charge!

I am thankful to be a part of this work that God is doing. I am excited about the tremendous potential that lies before us as we follow Jesus - who has gone before us and prepared for this day!

New City Church warner robins

Launching August 14, 2011

6:00 pm @ The River Church / 2440 Hwy 127, Kathleen

Starting Strong... New City Church Warner Robins

On August 14, at 6:00PM one of New City's bands will begin playing the first official nccWR song set. We'll sing together for the first time in WR. We'll pray together for the first time in WR . The Gospel of Jesus Christ will be clearly communicated from the Scripture for us for the first time in WR . We'll follow Jesus by calling people to repent and believe the Gospel for the first time in WR. We'll share the sacrament of communion together for the first time in WR. It will be incredible! For those who have been longing for this day - and praying for this church there will probably be tears of joy and happy laughter.

New City Church downtown started with 20 +/- people and 2 months of prayer and planning. The mission we understood - how we would carry it out was mostly a mystery! We had little idea what Missional Communities would actually look like - most of us had never heard the word missional. We had no idea what it would mean to be With and For our city and engage its people right where they were. Still, in January of 2008 we launched weekly services - filled with church planting ignorance!

Not long after that start, the seeds for New City Church Warner Robins found soil in a few from Warner Robins who dreamed of something different for their city. Little by little the number of people coming to Macon from Warner Robins grew... and they formed a Missional Community. Early on we communicated to those first travelers from Warner Robins that their Missional Community was more than a Missional Community - it was the first of a core group of people who would one day plant a church in their city. And they continued to grow and formed another Missional Community. And they continued to grow and have just recently started their third Missional Community with a fourth in the planning stages!

Here's where I am going - These communities of people in WR know the mission - gospel transformation. They get the vision. They have worked, served, and given to see the mission and vision happen. August 14 is NOT their start date! They have already begun and they are off to a strong, strong start!

I was asked recently by a church planter in the starting days of a plant, "what would you do differently if you could start over with your plant?" My answer: nothing. I really wouldn't. BUT I can say this... our WR Campus Pastor, Patrick McConnell, and the teams and team leaders getting ready for the launch of New City Church Warner Robins have no idea how far ahead of downtown's start that they are! God has graciously put together an incredible group of people and an incredible opportunity in Warner Robins!

I am so excited about August 14... I am more excited about what has already happened in Warner Robins and what is going to happen after August 14! If you are in WR and not in church, or know someone in WR without a church home, let me STRONGLY suggest that you join us August 14, 6:00PM at The River Community Church's building for the continuation of New City Church Warner Robins!

The Invisible Wall - Why We Are Planting in WR

Planting new churches isn't always about distance. Often it is as much about the UNSEEN as it is the SEEN. In large part, their exists an invisible wall between Macon and Warner Robins. though it is unseen, it is often insurmountable! It is a CULTURE wall.

Warner Robins is different than Macon... or if you like, Macon is different than Warner Robins. There are differences in racial make up - almost the exact opposite percentages exist, differences in incomes - almost 1/3 higher in warner Robins, differences in education levels...

But those are the things that can be SEEN. What can't be seen is the dislike that one city has for the other! Largely, Macon people see no reason to go to Warner Robins and have no desire to go there. Equally, Warner Robins people see Macon as unsafe and scary and thus have no desire to travel to Macon. This is an UNSEEN barrier - An invisible wall!

To break down this invisible wall would take decades of work and is probably only possible with a miraculous work by God. So, how do we see the Gospel transform Warner Robins? By planting a new church in Warner Robins! A church accessible to the people of Warner Robins, contextually geared for the culture of Warner Robins, and obviously - on their side of the wall!