On Sunday we shared at The Journey about a visioning and assessment time that I am currently on. Our Lead Team has decided to give me a time away from our regular duties to prepare for the next phase. Paul will also have a time like this later this year.

Paul and I started the Journey over 13 years ago. Throughout our history, we have always pushed to do whatever we can to reach more people. We never coast because we take the mission seriously. Even in the past few years, we have seen God do more than we could imagine through our church: We launched a 2nd site, navigated a transition with another church to move our site, hired a campus pastor, went through our ALL IN Vision campaign to expand our facilities & impact our community and are currently working on a remodel and building project, all the while continuing with good momentum in our regular ministry. I'm not saying this to boast about our church, but to say that we want to continue to do whatever we can to help people live their best life in a relationship with Jesus. 

With all that in mind, our Lead Team is giving me some time for visioning and assessment. It's 6 weeks for praying and dreaming about our future, assessing our direction for the next phase, some spiritual renewal, and some strategic planning. I plan to use this time to learn and grow. I will be attending a conference for church leaders. I will also be attending some other churches to evaluate how they accomplish the mission. I will be in discussion with other church leaders who are one step in front of us to see how they structure their church. I will be taking some time for long-term planning. I want to assess where we are now and navigate how we can maximize our impact in the next phase. I will be taking a lot of time to listen to God and pray. I want to serve out of the overflow of my relationship with God. I want Him to be the guide for all that we do. Please pray for me in this time for clarity of mind, guidance, rest and direction so I can do my best to lead our church well.

Thanks to our staff for being a great team, our Lead Team for this time and to all of you for letting me serve and do life with you.