“Figures” to “Faith” - a 10 year journey… the short story

Published
by
Kerry Mackey
on February 5, 2010
in B.E.L.O.N.G., Communication, Community, Connection, Contribution, Street to the Seat and Top 10 Things
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A journey of living the past 10 years at or above 6 figures ($$) to living by faith.  God woke me during the night last night and began to have me write.  What you see here are my ramblings from last night.

I have been needing to write this post for several months now; however, I just wasn’t ready.  I think I need it as much for myself to flesh out in words my feelings.  I hope you’ll find a nugget or two within my ramblings that will give you a word of faith for your own life.

LESSONS IN FIGURES

Over the past 10 years I have had the great privilege of serving at some of the greatest and most well known churches in the world.  I was fortunate enough to have gone to one of the most well known seminaries in the country in Fort Worth, Texas and began my ministry at a church of 255 in attendance to serving at the executive level of churches of 3000, and two churches over 20,000 in weekly attendance with multiple campuses.

During those times over the past ten years I was honored to have a very nice salary, health, life, dental, vision insurance, church supported HSA’s, retirement, and spending accounts.  Not to mention access to up to 3 & 4 weeks of paid vacations and plenty of time to travel and conduct conferences, revivals, training events, etc…

To tell you the truth over these years I truly haven’t worried about anything.  During that time my bride and I have lived in 3 different states, had 4 boys, and my bride has been able to be a work at home mother and home school our boys.  We have been completely taken care of financially.  Never really worrying about bills, car payments, mortgage, etc…  In fact, we purchased an investment property in Texas and held it for several years.  On other occasions we considered purchasing additional investment properties in Texas just in case we ever considered going back, but never followed through.

LESSONS IN FAITH

In the last 6 months God led us from that life of security in “figures” to join our dear friends Pat & Gina Giraldin in “faith” here in southern California to be church planters.  On Christmas Eve we started, “Hope Crossing Community Church” in San Juan Capistrano California (92675)

These past 6 months have been the greatest lesson in faith my bride and I have ever encountered.  Placing our home in Florida on the market in late August 2009… (still hasn’t sold - potentially will short sale) to moving our family to southern California completely on faith (several people came together to cover the cost of the move), not having a place to live (literally) until after driving into town the second week of December 2009.  Finding a place to rent within days and once again having several families help cover our 1st months rent.

Did I mention that at the time we rolled into town we didn’t have a place to start the church for Christmas Eve.. once again God showed up and gave us San Juan Hills High School Gym on December 14th and hundreds of folks came together to make the start a wonderful success.  In the past 5 weeks we have been gathering as a church, God has been impacting and changing lives of the folks in south Orange County… cities like San Juan Capistrano, San Clemente, Dana Point, Ladera Ranch, Laguna Niguel, Las Flores, Rancho Santa Margarita, Mission Viejo, and Aliso Viejo.

We have never lived an extravagant life; however, God has taught us what we can live without.  For the first time since we’ve been married we are renting a house and not owning.  We haven’t had TV, Cable, Satellite, house phone, or Internet for 6 months - no biggie - Thank you (Panera Bread) for the use of your free Wi-Fi.  We are turning back our lease car this month.  I have started riding my street bike full time.  We don’t have membership dues to golf or sport clubs so nothing lost there.

God has also stepped Stephanie and I through steps of faith in showing us daily provision.  Never in our lives have we been so dependent on daily provisions from God.  We have seen God use the gifts/resources of others to pay our rent, cover utility bills, make insurance payments, cover costs of registering our vehicles, provide groceries, and the list goes on.  It has been a very humbling experience as for the first time in our lives we have started going to the local food bank once a month.  Thank you to every person who has ever given to a local food bank… your generosity is providing for my family… Thank You!

God has shown us that we are so blessed! In light of the world’s problems we are blessed.  We live is a free country protected by the wonderful men/women of the armed forces.  We are all healthy. We have a great family, great children, loving parents/grandparents, awesome friends, and a church home in Hope Crossing that just blows our minds with love.

God has also shown us that the vision of reaching this community for Christ… Is to die for.  It is causing us to die to self and long for their eternal security in a relationship with Jesus.  I was reminded just last night that I have no pride left… For those of you who have known me most of my life you know that is a HUGE step for me.  From my earlier years I was in it for me… It was about what I could do, what I could prove, and who I was going to become in corporate America and in the American church.  I have truly been broken in the past 6 months.  Stephanie and I are both looking for part-time jobs to supplement expenses while getting the church off the ground with the ministry team.

The vision God has given us for south Orange County is crystal clear.  We (Hope Crossing Community Church) are a Church relieved of imposed boundaries created by religion, rising up from a generation that desires hope and community, gathering together to grow as disciples, loving God, loving others, and leaving a legacy of love in the world.

The communities we are desiring to love here in south Orange County are in dyer need of hope, love, and a legacy.  Our vision is to be the Church in our communities, not to them.  We want to be serving in our communities through local Government, Schools, Community Organizations, Youth Organizations, and in the lives of individual families.  We are committed to the cities of south Orange County for the health of our families and our faith.

Check out these stats: (10 mile ring around Hope Crossing - 9 cities)

  • 500,000 people
  • 182,000 households
  • 24.4% - say it is important to attend a religious service
  • 50.5% - consider themselves spiritual
  • 18.0% - enjoy watching religious TV
  • 35.4% - considering themselves to have conservative Christian values
  • 17.3% - say their faith is really important to them
  • 25.0% - say they contribute more than $200 a year to a religious organization

I’d like to ask you to consider partnering with us to carry out the vision God has given us at Hope Crossing Community Church.  Please consider joining the vision.  Your support will change a life, a family, and our community.

Make contributions payable to:

Hope Crossing Community Church

Mail contributions to:

Hope Crossing Community Church
PO Box 4170
Mission Viejo, Ca 92690
Thank you for allowing me to share my journey.  I hope that you have seen from my thoughts that my faith is stronger now than ever… on so much less.  Being a church planter has shown me a missional-life is a faith-life.  Living by faith…

Last night during our bible study and prayer time we studied Galatians 6:9 in the Bible which says, “And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up.”

We will not give up…

Blessings!

Pastor Kerry

Hope Crossing Web
Hope Crossing Facebook Fan Page

Aerial View of communities being impacted by @hopecrossing

Published
by
Kerry Mackey
on January 27, 2010
in Street to the Seat
. 0 Comments

We are so excited that God has called us to impact the following communities of south Orange County, California.

Website

Facebook

DONATE button added to Hope Crossing Community Church.

Published
by
Kerry Mackey
on January 16, 2010
in Street to the Seat
. 0 Comments

As a church planter we wear several hats.  Today we are raising support to carry out the vision God has given us to help change lives in the San Juan Capistrano Valley area of south Orange County, California.


Please keep up with the latest on our website at http://hopecrossingchurch.com and/or our Facebook Fan Page.

Thank you for your support.

Blessings!

Pastor Kerry

Intentional or Natural Assimilation through the eyes of a Church Planter

Published
by
Kerry Mackey
on January 13, 2010
in B.E.L.O.N.G., Communication, Community, Connection, Contribution and Street to the Seat
. 0 Comments

Well, these past several months have been off the hook as we’ve planted  Hope Crossing Community Church in southern California with some dear friends.  Coming from the world of serving on staff with two giga churches over the past 5 years to planting a church from ground up has it’s own assimilation intricacies.

My students at Rockbridge Seminary (an online seminary where I teach) reminded me through their postings this week of our longing for … biblical community.

I am also reminded of a brief discussion I had with Joseph Myers author of “A Search to Belong” back in February 2009.  Joe said, “Why do we work so hard to create something God created us for in the first place?”  Joe was referring to the time/energy the church puts into “creating community”.  Joe said to me, “Kerry, shouldn’t something that God created us to be, come easier?  Why do we try to artificially created something…?”

Just a thought?  It made me think…

Hope Crossing Community Church - Christmas Eve Launch

Published
by
Kerry Mackey
on November 24, 2009
in B.E.L.O.N.G. and Street to the Seat
. 1 Comment

It is hard to express to you in words the emotion we are feeling right now as we share with you the vision God has given us for Hope Crossing Community Church, a new church plant in the Ladera Ranch area of southern California.

More details on our web site at Hope Crossing Webpage and on our Facebook Fan Page
Our Vision…
Hope Crossing is a Church relieved of imposed boundaries created by religion, rising up from a generation that desires hope and community, gathering together to grow as disciples, loving God, loving others, and leaving a legacy of love in the world.
Our Purpose and Plan are unified:
Love God – Believe – weekend messaging
Love others – Belong - community groups
Leave a legacy – Become – being the hands and feet of Jesus
Hope Crossing will live out the church in community as established by Jesus and modeled by the disciples. We will be a place where the churched, un-churched, de-churched, and all of God’s children can come together in gatherings to support, care for, and encourage one another. We see the church moving into communities and houses…yet still connected.
We see the church working towards three gatherings, a Believe gathering, a Belong gathering, and a Become gathering. The design is to connect the community and help motivate people to come not out of convenience, but out of desire to be part of something bigger than themselves. Church will be where we come to worship God, invite friends and family, and grow together.

The three gatherings will have aligning messaging with different deliveries. These gatherings will always be unified without uniformity, and each designed to reach someone at a different stage of their spiritual growth.

Hope Crossing’s leadership will be FULL of Jesus, FULL of vision, and FULL of love

for His church…100% sold out and committed to God’s vision and mission in the world.  Crossing over from what the church has become to what Christ intended it to be.

Here is how the vision came to be…

By late May 2009 Pastor Pat had separate conversations with two close friends who shared their impressions with him that by July 1, 2009 they felt he would have clarity about next steps in ministry. The answer came in the form of a vision to Pat of a church based in community - recklessly abandoned to Jesus. On July 1, 2009 Pat was called to move forward with the vision of a church plant in Orange County California called “Hope Crossing Community Church.” Since that day God has continued to reveal signs and next steps. The vision is being confirmed through numerous mentors, life coaches, pastors, friends and family to this day.

On August 21, 2009 Pastor Kerry Mackey contacted Pat to see what God was doing in his life. After sharing the vision with Kerry, Pat learned that Kerry not minutes earlier had been challenged by his mentor Dr. Daryl Eldridge (Rockbridge Seminary) to consider planting a church. Pat and Kerry began praying daily for God’s direction and timing of next steps. Since that date, God has given many signs to both Pat and Kerry as well as their wives and others that they have been called together as a co-laborer team to share in the vision that God is crafting through them.

We believe that God is calling us to plant Hope Crossing in the Ladera Ranch area of southern California. At this time we sense God showing us a vacant commercial property or school in the area. We have considered a former auto dealership unable to be rented and purposefully gifted to Hope Crossing for a specified period of time.

We are currently raising financial support for staffing, facility rental, utilities, and ministry needs. We are having weekly night of prayer gatherings where our core team is praying and studying
scripture together. Joining together from multiple locations over Skype.

Weekly we are having meetings with individuals, churches, and organizations of potential partnerships with us.

We LAUNCH…. Christmas Eve at sunset… location is still to be determined; however, we should have that nailed down in the next week.

We count it pure joy to be serving alongside each of you in ministry.

If you have any questions and/or would like to be involved in any way, please contact us at

pastorpat@hopecrossingchurch.com
pastorkerry@hopecrossingchurch.com

or

info@hopecrossingchurch.com

We will see you Christmas Eve… stay tuned to our fan page for time and location.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Super fellowship with LifeChurch.tv Wellington, Florida - GREAT ministry Team

Published
by
Kerry Mackey
on October 13, 2009
in B.E.L.O.N.G. and Street to the Seat
. 2 Comments

This past weekend, Stephanie, the boys and I gathered with Life Church.TV Wellington, Florida.  We were so blessed to have worshiped with them.  We wanted to say thanks to the staff and ministry partners for making us feel so welcomed.  It is always a blessing to be greeted like family even when no one knows who you are.  Over the past several years of my ministry it has not often been that I could just be a part of the crowd.  It was so refreshing.

Several things that caught my attention.

  • access/signage was done well
  • banners along the front of the high school auditorium were HUGE… great street appeal and easy to understand where we were suppose to go.
  • ministry partners were every where (all wearing the same shirt)
  • greeters on all the side walks shaking hands.
  • greeter at the door greeted us, asked our names, asked how they could serve us today.
  • greeter walked us to the welcome center for more information, asked if we’d like our children to attend worship with us or with the children’s ministry.  This was HUGE for us because we prefer to have our children with us.  Our children (9,4,2, and 1) were welcomed with open arms into the worship center.  Kids were super stoked that they were given ear plugs as welcome gifts.  The boys truly saw it as a welcoming gift.
  • usher welcomed us and walked us into the auditorium, asking questions as she went about us, our family, etc… SO refreshing… you could see she was genuinely interested in our family.
  • Auditorium was done very well… love how they used pipe/drape to make the room feel more intimate.
  • Sound and Lighting was very nice - would love to know where they purchased their equipment.
  • Campus Pastor Larry Mayer, greeted us… as he could see we were a fresh face…  That my friends is a gift.  A Campus Pastor who looks for new people… passionate about his campus.
  • Worship was good! - visiting worship pastor from the area… my boys love contemporary Christian rock, so we fit right in.
  • Andy Stanley was preaching… need I say more… It was a word of Truth we all need to hear.
  • hundreds of folks hanging out in the foyer after the gathering time.
  • great small group information
  • great children’s and student ministry information
  • Loved how Pastor Larry invited all new folks to his home for the following weekend just to hang and ask questions… This is REAL!

Thanks to the Following Life Church.TV Wellington, Florida Team

We had a great experience.  When you are in the south Florida area near West Palm Beach (PBI) you need to stop in and worship with LifeChurch.TV Wellington.  It is minutes from the airport.

Blessings my friends!

I just became a fan of “Hope Crossing Community Church” on Facebook.

Published
by
Kerry Mackey
on October 12, 2009
in Street to the Seat
. 0 Comments

I just became a fan of Hope Crossing Community Church on Facebook.  Really love what they are saying about their ministry.

Might be a church you want to follow.  Seems like they are up to “crazy love” for Jesus.

Just a thought.

Customer Service - a back porch discussion

Published
by
Kerry Mackey
on October 3, 2009
in Communication and Street to the Seat
. 1 Comment

This past week I was hanging with some really great friends in the North Texas area.  During our time together while hanging out on the back porch at their house we had a great discussion on “customer service”.

Just a couple of nuggets from that discussion that I think are paramount for us to understand as we think about first impressions through the local church into our communities.

  • be easy to find (church contact information should permeate your community)
  • be the go to organization in your community (partner with your city, county, state)
  • be available to serve the community at a moments notice
  • be in the community conversation (you don’t have to lead it, but you need to be in it)
  • be the safe place for everyone in your community
  • be accessible
  • be real about who you are
  • be transparent
  • be servants

You’ll notice that this “customer service” discussion didn’t have anything to do with persons at your facility.  Customer Service starts long before anyone arrives at a location.

Just a couple of nuggets that were good reminders for me.

Hope you find them helpful as well.

Just a Thought!

Listening to God for Our Next Steps

Published
by
Kerry Mackey
on September 23, 2009
in B.E.L.O.N.G., Communication, Community, Connection, Contribution, Street to the Seat and Top 10 Things
. 1 Comment

This past week I spent several days in southern California with friends praying and talking about mine and Stephanie’s journey and listening for discerning words about our next steps in ministry.  You know that this isn’t always a comfortable place for me.  Being the tactical, church business administrator, developer that I have become to be over the years sometimes hinders my ability to hear God.  However, in the past week God has brought our friends, family, coaches, and mentors around us to hear from God.

Here is a run down of 6 days of God speaking … listening to God for our next steps… what do you hear?

Day 1: (September 18, 2009)

God wakes me up at 6:38 a.m. California time

Day 2: (September 19,2009)

God wakes me up at 6:38 a.m. again

Day 3: (September 20, 2009)

God once again wakes me at 6:38 a.m.

Day 4: (September 21, 2009)

Ok, this is crazy… four days in a row God wakes me at 6:38 a.m.  The reason I know it was 6:38 is when He woke me is because I immediately looked at my iPhone to see what time it was… The time 6:38 kept looking back at me.  On this day I immediately called Stephanie and the boys in Texas to make sure everything was OK.  Things were great with her, so I asked Stephanie what it might mean.  She had no idea, but knew God was revealing another sign to us about our next steps in ministry.

I thought for a minute… hmmm… 4 days in a row…. bible…. 4 gospels… Let’s go to the gospels and see what is there.

Book of Matthew - there is not a chapter 6 verse 38.  It ends at verse 34.

Book of Mark - now this is another story. Mark 6:38 reads:

How many loaves do you have?  Go look!”

May not be a sign for you, but it was for me.  I had just been praying over a financial need from the day before that will change the course of our life and ministry.

Book of Luke - chapter 6 verse 38

Give and it will be given to you.  They will pour into your lap a good measure–press down, shaken together, and running over.  For by your standard of measure it will be measured to you in return.”

Do you see where this is going?  God is calling us out to be so generous in our daily lives that He, with reckless abandonment will provide for our every need.

Book of John - chapter 6 verse 38

For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent me.”

Hello… God is speaking… He is saying don’t get in My way… I have a plan for you and Stephanie, and it is to do His will, not ours.  We must get out of His way so that He can do what He does best…  “Oh, God don’t let us screw this up.  Whatever “this” is?”

Day 5: (September 22, 2009)

God wakes me at 6:33 a.m.  - Go figure… He missed the book of Matthew and need to take me back.

Book of Matthew - chapter 6 verse 33

But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.

I can not fathom that God would wake me up five days in a row at specific times that had meaning… but then again He is God.

Day 6: (September 23, 2009)

Now if 5 days wasn’t enough God woke me up this morning… now back in Florida at 9:23 a.m. and this time I felt like I needed to go to the Book of Luke, so that is where I went.

Book of Luke - chapter 9 verse 23

If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow Me.”

Call it what you will, but I believe this is a prophetic and defining moment in mine and Stephanie’s ministry.  In all my years of being a pastor God has never chosen to reveal Himself to me in such a fashion.  I am beside myself in how He is choosing to speak to me in these days.

Wonder if He’ll rest on the 7th day???

Just a Thought…

What do some Pastors have against us?

Published
by
Kerry Mackey
on September 18, 2009
in Contribution
. 0 Comments

I was on the phone recently with a ministry partner at a church I have known for years who asked me the question, “What do some Pastors have against us?”  Not a question I hear every day.

Here is the conversation… the best I recall.

Ministry Partner = MP
Pastor Kerry = PK

MP - Pastor Kerry what do some pastors have against us?

PK - What do you mean?

MP - I mean for the past 10 years I have been serving in the local church and it appears to me that some pastors get in the way more than they serve along with us… and they are seldom satisfied with our service.

PK - Go on…

MP - Well, for example… there are several of us who had this idea that we were willing to lead, fund, and take charge of.  Everything was going fine until one of the the pastors stepped in and derailed the whole thing.  Seemed like he wanted to step in and make it his, take charge, run the show, call the shots, etc…

PK - So how does that make you feel.

MP - Makes me feel like if the pastor doesn’t think they are in control of every little thing at the church then it can’t happen.

MP - In fact, just the other weekend one of the pastors came by the Welcome Center and told me that their was just too much stuff on the tops of the counter and that it all needed to be cleaned off.

MP - So just for grins when the pastor walked away I shuffled the brochures around to different locations on the counter top; however, I didn’t remove any of them.

MP - 15 minutes later the pastor walked back by and said, “Now… that’s looks so much better.”

MP - and without taking a breathe the pastor said, “now can you get some more greeters at that other set of doors.”  I almost lost my cool, but I didn’t.

PK - I am so sorry for the way in which he treated you… it wasn’t right and I know how much that must have hurt you.  I am deeply sorry.
___________________

I wonder how often we as pastors and staff treat ministry partners this way.  I genuinely believe sometime we forget that we as pastors/staff are to be “equipping the saints for the work of the service”.  Now that doesn’t mean controlling their every move, nor does it mean treating them like throw away utensils.

It saddens me to think that we would treat our ministry partners in such a way that they would not feel valued, loved, and cared for… what a tragedy!

How is it that we have moved so far away from serving alongside of each other in ministry… we are all ministers… aren’t we?

Pastors…

No longer can we sit on the sidelines barking orders to “volunteers”… They are “partners” in ministry.  It is time we come out of the “green rooms”, “lofts”, “pits”, “boxes”, “bullpens” … or whatever else your church may call them, and serve alongside of ministry partners.

No Ministry Partner should ever say, “What do some pastors have against us?”

Something to chew on…