Iowa - 2026 Regional Connect

Thank You’s:

Occassion: Regional Connect 2026

Thank: Area Pastor Chad Garrison

PERSONAL INTRODUCTION:

Regional Pastor for Foursquare Churches

Pastor the church my grandparents started in Mahomet, IL

Married 7 years to Andrea

Kids: Kayla is 6 and Luke is 4

SERMON INTRO:

Title: “Walking Together Into Maturity”

Big Idea:

Christ grows His Church by developing people—our role is to equip, not to carry, so that every church moves toward health and multiplication.

THE TENSION

(Why This Matters — Name the struggle)

After a day like today, there’s often a quiet tension:

We see the vision… but how do we actually move forward?

We feel encouraged… but also unsure where we fit in it

Many leaders carry this:

Pressure to produce growth

Weight of responsibility

Uncertainty about the “next step”

It’s possible to have clarity about the mission, but still feel unclear about your role in it.

TRANSITION: And that’s exactly where Ephesians 4 speaks, not just to what the Church does, but how it MATURES.

MY STORY

(Relatable Entry Point — who you are, how you lead)

Let me take just a moment to share a bit of my story, not just what I do, but what has shaped how I serve.

My role is to serve as a Regional Pastor, alongside pastoring at Sangamon Valley Church. A significant part of my assignment is walking with churches through transitions and moments of conflict, but even more than that, it’s investing in leaders and helping churches move toward health.

But the way I approach that didn’t start in a ministry assignment, it started much earlier.

Some of my earliest memories are of my dad not being in the home. And for a long time, that felt like something missing… something WAS broken. But over time, I began to see that what felt like absence became a place where I encountered the mercy and grace of God in a very real way. God didn’t just fill a gap…He began to form something in me.

As I grew up, I also faced challenges in school. I had to take speech classes. I was diagnosed with a learning difficulty. There were moments where it felt like I was behind, like I didn’t quite measure up in the ways others did.

But again, what could have been limiting became formative.

God placed people in my life…teachers, pastors, mentors…GIFTS…who saw something in me and invested in me.

Over time, I began to realize that God equips people not just directly, but through others. What I lacked in one area, He provided through community, through development, through grace over time.

All of that has formed a deep conviction in me:

The mission is about people becoming obedient disciples of Jesus.

Discipleship is not about doing everything ourselves…it’s about helping others grow into who God has called them to be.

And because of that, I’ve become convinced of this:

The greatest thing we can do as leaders is not build something impressive in the eyes of the world, but help people become who God has called them to be.

THE SCRIPTURE

(Context, Characters, Read)

Text: Ephesians 4:11–16

Framing:

Paul writing to the Church about how it matures

Not a model of independence, but interdependence

(equipping the saints) Ephesians 4:11–12 “11 And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, 12 to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ,”

(maturity and unity) Ephesians 4:13 “13 until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ,”

(growth from Christ, every part doing its work) Ephesians 4:15–16 “15 Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, 16 from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.”

THE DISCOVERY

(What We See Unfolding — 3 Movements)

1. Christ is the head of the Church

Growth comes from Him (v.16)

He is actively building and supplying what is needed

The Church doesn’t grow because of us, it grows from Him.

2. Leaders are gifted to equip others

Leaders are given:

Not to do all the ministry

But to equip the saints for the work of ministry (v.12)

The goal:

Maturity (v.13)

Stability (v.14)

Growth of the body (v.15–16)

Tie to the Four Stage Wheel:

Disciples → Leaders → Churches → Movements

When leaders equip, the Church/body grows. When leaders carry everything, the Church stalls.

3. The Body grows “when each part is working properly” (v.16)

Lies:

“It’s my job to do it all”

“If I work harder, the church will grow”

“Healthy churches are built on strong personalities”

Truth:

Healthy churches are built on equipped people

Growth happens when “when each part is working properly” (v.16)

IDENTITY SHIFT

(Who God is / Who we are)

God is:

The builder

The source of growth

The one forming His Church

We are:

Equippers

Co-laborers

Participants in a shared mission

We are not just leading churches, we are gifts given to equip others.

THE PRACTICE

(Next Steps — Application & your philosophy of ministry)

My Philosophy of Ministry

1. Equip, don’t carry

My role is not to do ministry for you

My role is to help you and your leaders grow into all God has called you to be

If I do it for you, we stay where we are. If we equip others, we multiply.

2. Clarity over complexity

Not 10 new strategies

One clear next step

Every church has a next step

This is about discernment, not comparison

3. Health before speed

The goal is not fast growth

The goal is sustainable, Spirit-led health

Maturity in Eph 4:13 comes before multiplication

4. We do this together

This is not isolated leadership

This is a shared journey

You are not leading alone, and you are not figuring this out alone.

What You Can Expect From Me IN MY ASSIGNMENT AS RP

I will be praying for you (God’s presence)

I will strive to bring clarity (discernment)

I will encourage you (care + growth)

I will help connect you to others (community)

CONCLUSION

“From Him the whole body grows…” (v.16)

Growth is not on your shoulders alone

If we will commit to staying rooted in Christ, equipping people, and taking the next step—God will take care of the growth.

PRAYER

For leaders:

Release from pressure

Clarity for next steps

For churches:

Health, maturity, stability

For FOURSQUARE area:

Unity and shared mission

For the lost:

That our churches would be disciples who make disciples