Road Trips: The Importance of Visiting Church Plants
Last month, I embarked on my third annual road trip through the Heartland to visit as many churches as possible in a week. I call it “The Heartland Road Tour,” and this year’s trip was extra special because my 18-year-old son, Seth, joined me.
The Heartland Road Tour is a whirlwind of driving, meetings, and connections. I love every minute of it! My son and I covered over 2,000 miles this year, visiting nine pastors in five states over six days!
Every year I am reminded of the importance of visiting churches where they do ministry because it helps me pray more fervently for their work. It also communicates our value of being relationally devoted to one another. Listed below are the highlights from the trip.
Arbor Drive Community Church (York, NE): Pastor Jon Hawkins and Arbor Drive have a thriving ministry expanding their reach. People drive over 40 miles to church for connection and community. On the Sunday we attended, they highlighted a missionary they support. She came from Arbor Drive and now works with college coaches and athletes through Fellowship of Christian Athletes. Seeing a church send people out into the world to make disciples is so encouraging!
Gospel Life Church (Wichita, KS): We met with Gospel Life’s leadership team over supper where they shared all that God did over the past year. Gospel Life has seen steady growth over the past 12 months. They are reaching more people in their community and working hard to help people get connected to the church. One exciting project is their creation of clear paths and expectations for membership. Gospel Life Church hopes more people will get connected and use their time, talent, and treasure to bless others in the church and city.
Oklahoma City, OK: We met with the pastor of a growing church and shared about Converge, our mission, vision, and values.
The Fount (Kansas City, MO): I met with Pastor Jon Reed. Pastor Jim Hays is on sabbatical this summer, and Jon has been helping fill in. Jon talked excitedly about their elder development and the growing desire of some members at The Fount to pursue pastoral ministry and residencies.
Arrows Church (Omaha, NE): Pastors Robert Conn and Rob Steele are gearing up for the fall. Rob was a pastoral resident at my church, and it was good to see him settling into his new role at Arrows. Robert and Rob work hard to care for their volunteers and help people join a group. Arrows Church is in their second year of ministry and seeing God do great things!
Risen Hope Baptist Church (Sioux Falls, SD): Pastor Jayson Wittrup and I met for supper on the last leg of my trip. Risen Hope is a plant from Faith Baptist Fellowship in Sioux Falls. Jayson shared about his group leaders. They are a great group serving faithfully. We also talked about pastoral rhythms and leading a healthy church. It was a great time to fellowship with a brother in Christ!
As you can see, God is at work all over our region! Please pray for our churches. Feel free to reach out and encourage these leaders, too. I am confident they would appreciate it!