Have you ever thought the world needed to rethink church?
As I was reading the book, Exponential by Dave & Jon Ferguson, as an assignment for our Women’s Church Planting Cohort I was co-leading, I was struck by these words,
… my best estimates tell me that at least one-third to one-half of the American population will never come to churches like the ones you and I attend. Up to 50 percent of the population will not come to a church-owned facility no matter how cool or engaging it looks or feels. Even multiple sites won’t completely solve this problem. So what’s the solution? I believe in the next decade we will need something more than megachurches and multisite churches – we’ll need reproducing churches filled with missional teams that go to the people and don’t just expect people to come to them. (Ferguson & Ferguson, 2010 p. 104) (Since the printing of the book, Exponential. The number of Americans who will never enter a traditional church has risen above 60 percent!)
I feverishly highlighted these words in my book.
What I didn’t know at the time, as I co-led the Women’s Church Planting Cohort to empower and equip other women to plant churches, was that God was waiting for me to respond to His call to plant a church like this one described in Exponential.
God was already preparing the path for me to rethink church through equipHER. I launched equipHER groups, with the intention of creating resources for our local churches to equip women in their relationship with Jesus and their calling. The surprising outcome was the number of women who found equipHER through our Facebook page. These women came from different backgrounds and experiences of faith but had no spiritual home where they could be nurtured in their faith and purpose.
It is God’s desire that every person would have the opportunity to know he or she is chosen and loved by Him. And He wants us to be a part of a life-giving, biblical community. Jesus never left anyone out. He went where people were gathering. He saw people that felt invisible and invited them into a life of hope, meaning and purpose. Jesus believed every person was a unique part of God’s story to restore beauty to the world. I do too.
It is out of these experiences that I became a church planter.
Welcome to Pursuit Church Live!
One of the things that makes Pursuit Church Live different than traditional churches is its online platform. We are a church without walls (literally)! No one has to wait until Sunday morning to be encouraged by God’s word and the fellowship of others. We are LIVE all-day, every-day online on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, iTunes Podcast, AND our NEW PHONE APP! (You can search your APP store for Pursuit Church Live) It is free and fun!
I call our online platform the “front porch”. This is the place where people are invited to explore faith and purpose without expectation. It is exciting to see people who won’t attend a traditional church (or can’t physically attend) joining us online. When they feel safe, they ask to join a PCL community. In-person community is our goal for every person. Whether they end up in a PCL Community or another church, we don’t care. We simply want people to find a place to belong and experience the live change Jesus came to bring us.
If you know someone who cannot or will not attend a traditional church, share Pursuit Church Live with them. This is why we exist!
I hope you will stop by periodically and check out what’s happening at Pursuit Church Live.
I love and appreciate each of you dearly and am grateful you are a part of my life!
Connect with Pursuit Church Live:
Website: www.pursuitchurchlive.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PursuitChurchLive/
Prayer Wall: https://www.facebook.com/groups/PursuitChurchLivePrayerWall/
Instagram: @PursuitChurchLive
Twitter: @Pursuit_Live
You Tube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCXxJmd23LB3_LC3DHW-Av5w
What do you think?