Taking Risks

I'm a risk taker. When I was younger I would take on any kind of risk, no matter how dangerous (or stupid) it might seem to be. Now that I have a few years under my belt, my risks are more calculated and a lot less physically dangerous! It seems, I may have grown up, at least a little bit! Actually, the risks I enjoy taking today are predominately God inspired. I am not the kind of person who enjoys the status quo or just getting along, or just getting by. That's boring to me. I love trying to figure out what kind of risks God wants me to take, and then taking them.

Planting a new church in Eagle, ID is one of those HUGE risks that God has led me to take. It was a risk to leave my Church in Las Vegas along with a regular paycheck. It was a risk to talk to people about supporting us as missionaries to plant a new church. And it was a risk to move to to a community we had never lived in before with the purpose of planting a church with the vision of reaching unchurched people with the Good News of Jesus. BUT we are here. With some financial support, our personal savings, and a call from God to "Go therefore into all the world..." Meaning we are to go into Eagle to tell people who are far from God about a God who loves them so much He sent His Son to die for them!

This is risky business! What if fail? What if we run out of money? What if we never get started? the first step is always the hardest... But we have done the work God's Word says to do when making risky decisions: I researched the Treasure Valley to see if a new church aimed at reaching unchurched people was needed, the answer is ABSOLUTELY! I analyzed what it will cost me in time, money, emotions, energy and effort. And we decided the risk was worth the rewards of seeing people become Christ followers and grow in their new faith. I developed a strategy; seeking wise counsel, anticipated problems, and we have prayed and prayed from the very first moment. And God gave us a plan. We announced our intentions to our home church in Las Vegas, to our friends, and family and anyone else who would listen, as a statement of faith saying we believe God wants us to plant a new church in Eagle! And now we are taking steps of faith. We left our home in Las Vegas and rented a home in Eagle. I have met with some godly pastors who totally support us planting a new church, and now we are completely trusting God for the results.

There is something absolutely freeing about living by faith, knowing that there is nothing I can do that will make this church successful. It is God, He is the One who makes us able to do all that we do (2 Cor. 3:5 NCV). That's true freedom!