10 years ago i developed a deep conviction for church planting. I was young, and didn't quite know how to proceed with that calling. Like today, back then I had a passion for Christ, for people, and for doing ministry in Jesus' name. Yet, I felt pretty clearly that I was not a lead pastor. We were in California at the time, and I had quit my job as a youth pastor believing God had something big in store for us. I was looking for a next step, yet not wanting to accept a ministry job in betrayal of my deeper conviction: to be a part of a church plant, and to belong to a church we could believe in. Enter Rick McKinley...
Rick was planting a church in Portland at the time. He happened to be in San Jose raising some funds and we connected. He shared his vision with me and I was all in. I didn't need or want a job from him. I wanted a church to believe in. That began the past 9 years of my life. It has been nothing short of my own personal reformation. And I can't even begin to list all the things I'm thankful for, that have shaped me, or the laughs I have had while at Imago Dei Community. I'll leave that for another time. After several years as a volunteer I had the privilege of coming on staff for the past five and a half years to pastor in multiple roles. It's been nothing short of amazing. Enter the Costellos...
Kyle and Joy Costello moved to Portland 2 years ago, and Kyle has been on staff with us at Imago Dei for the past year and a half. You can read his journey here and Joy's perspective here. For now suffice it to say they've become great friends. And Kyle is leading a church plant in Salt Lake City. I've know this since the summer, and my response was sadness to lose a good friend...but stoked Imago was planting a church. That was my response, until...
Karen and I spent 2 days together driving up to see U2 in Vancouver B.C. This meant two long days in the car with lots of time to talk. It was on that short trip that God placed a heavy conviction upon my heart. This developed into a call to join Kyle. I realized that I had not left the church planting passion behind, but that it is a part of me.
I spent a few days wrestling with this call, and then took it to my closest community. I took it to Kyle. I took it to my good friends Luke and Rick. And then to other friends. It surprised and humbled me when every single person affirmed this call. It was on...
So here we are. Merely a few weeks later. Our house is on the market. We are moving to Salt Lake City on February 15th. Salt Lake City is one of the least churched cities in the country. I will be posting more details about the actual church plant soon (like next steps, funding, SLC demographics, etc). I'll post either on here or more likely via twitter (follow me at @kevinandrewpdx). We will have a video available soon that is an interview between Rick, Kyle, Joy, Karen, and myself. It will tell more of the story, and I look forward to sharing that with you.
The biggest practical need we have right now is to sell our house. So please pray for us to that end. And if you know of anyone wanting to buy a house in Portland, let us know! Also, if any of you know people in Salt Lake City, please let me know. I'd love to connect with them once we're there.
I'm thrilled that a team is going with us. Beyond the Costello's, there are two other families with kids that committed to moving from Portland to SLC in 2010, along with a few young adults (including my nephew, Levi!). We just announced it in our church services today, so I would not be surprised if a few more people jumped on board. We'd also love to hear from you if this is a vision you would like to consider joining. We'll be having an informational and vision meeting this Wednesday, 12/16, at 7pm if you're interested (2830 NE Flanders).
It was so encouraging to share the story today at our church services. All of the feedback was very similar. Pretty much everyone said something to the effect of: "wow...big news...this will be a great thing for you guys." Different people had different levels of awareness or surprise. But everyone was consistent in their overwhelming support and agreement that following God is a sweet place to be. I could sense their sincerity. My friend Steve summed it up best after this evening's service. He simply said, "Saying yes to God is a good thing." I agree. So SLC, here we come.
