Present at the Launch of a New Church
This past Sunday Sue and I were privileged to be able to attend the first worship service at Daybreak United Methodist Church in Las Vegas, Nevada. Rev. Candace Lansberry is the founding pastor of Daybreak and a personal friend. Candace planted a successful church start in Queen Creek, AZ back in 2000 and, like me, felt called to use her special gifts to plant another new church.
We’ve both been through the church planting classes, read many books, and prepared as best we can for the challenges of starting a new church. Candace has a year’s head start on me and I’m watching and learning from her experiences. There’s a kind of “Catch-22” at work in church planting – you don’t want to start worshiping until you have a good-size core group and a “critical mass” that makes that first worship service dynamic and successful. But on the other hand, it’s hard to get people to join you until you start worshiping. I remember when I started New Song there were people who told me, “Let us know when you start worshiping and we’ll join you then.”
Sue and I enjoyed worshiping at Daybreak last Sunday. There was an excitement in the air as everyone there felt that God was giving birth to something new and exciting. Our prayers are with Candace and her congregation as they minister to the growing communities of North Las Vegas. I couldn’t help thinking that we’ll be doing the same thing here in North Peoria next September. And that’s exciting!
Blessings,
Steve