A29 Assessment

So some of you may know that we are planting a church in the Abington area. The name of the church is Trinity. Here's the link. www.tcphilly.org

We are hoping to be part of a church planting network called the Acts 29 Network.
http://www.acts29network.org/
It is a bunch of churches with similar theology and core values. Mark Driscoll, pastor of Mars Hill in Seattle started the network. Our church in Louisville, Sojourn, is part of this network.

In order to become part of the network there is an extensive process that we must go through. In the Spring, Mark started the paper work. It was crazy! He filled out at least 30 pages of questions ranging from theology to personal stuff. It took him a long time.

The last part of the process is a face to face interview with the potential planter and his wife. Mark and I went into downtown Philly this past Thursday to do this interview. It was intense but such a neat experience.

When we got there we sat down with the two pastors who were doing the assessment. They asked if we were nervous. I responded, "No, Mark's the one on the hot seat." They really didn't say anything when I said that. That should have been my first clue. :)

So basically the assessment focused just as much on me, if not more on me, than on Mark. They probed into lots of areas of our lives. They asked about my calling to church plant, Mark's leadership, our marriage and many, many other things. Some questions were not easy but seemed necessary.

Earlier that week I had gotten together with the pastor's wife of the church who had sent us down to seminary. Allison and I had such a wonderful time together! She has been such a role model for me and such an encouragement and supporter. I am so thankful for her!

After the assessment and my time with Allison and some other church planting things, I took a step back and looked at my life. I was filled with joy and gratitude. I truly love my life and this adventure that the Lord has in store for us. So far, church planting is not very easy but so fulfilling. I feel so humbled and honored to be doing this. I really would not want to be anywhere else. I love being home with my boys and planting this church with Mark. No one said this would be easy. It's not easy, but it filled with purpose and I am so thankful the Lord has called us to this.