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
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…
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.
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.
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
We will see you Christmas Eve… stay tuned to our fan page for time and location.
Happy Thanksgiving!
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.
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. 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.
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.
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!
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…
I have had several persons ask for a sample First Impressions Team Covenant so here is an idea for you to consider. Feel free to use this one or modify and make your own.
Team Covenant
In order to assure that our team is healthy and that we are accomplishing our ministry in a manner that honors God and serves the church, we commit to each other:
Signature: ____________________________________________ Date: _________________
I am processing through a continuum that combines two different ideas, Street to the Seat and from the Seat back to the Street, that shows the balance of connecting persons to Jesus and the church, and at the same time understanding the need to be other focused.
There is definitely an imbalance in the sacred space of the general evangelical world. Let me unpack what I mean by this. Remember, this is coming from the guy who loves first impressions and helping persons find Jesus and the Church. Not to mention, spending time working with pastors and churches on communication strategies, connection ideas, growing ministry partners, and leading toward biblical community; as well as, consulting, coaching, speaking, etc…
However, I would be the first to tell you that if our heart isn’t broken for those who Jesus misses most… we are missing it! The Christian world isn’t lived in the walls of the church building… it is lived out there in the streets. The imbalance in the sacred space that I am referring to is our self centered internal focus. I recall years ago a preacher saying to me, “Kerry, some people are so heavenly minded… they are no earthly good.” That old saying has resonated with me for over 20 years. I would go on to say that we spend as much or more time within our church walls discussing, debating, deliberating on “things” that have no eternal significance. I know so… I have been guilty of doing that myself.
It begs a few questions:
In resent weeks God has continually reminded me that to be internally healthy as a church we have to be externally focused. We have to be mission minded, selfless works of godly art that He is using in our community to complete the portrait that He is painting.
Just a Thought!
Over the summer months Stephanie and I have been on a ministry growth journey with the Christ Fellowship team, our mentors, our coaches, and family about life and ministry.
We have come to a place in resent days where we believe God is leading us to transition from our position as Director of Adult Ministries at Christ Fellowship Church in Palm Beach Gardens Florida.
As we pray through our next steps in ministry we ask that you join us for an adventure with Jesus. We are so excited about our next steps… even when we can’t see them clearly. Dependency is a great place to live.
Street to the Seat (STS) has been close to our hearts for the past several years so we will continue this ministry as we move forward. Please click on the Services tab to see how we can better serve you, your denomination, association, and/or church.
Please CONTACT US to begin a conversation.
Street to the Seat
17172 Brian Way
Jupiter, Florida 33478
561-972-4316
kerry@streettotheseat.com
Latest Comments
RSS