Climb Anniversary Celebration

Introduction:

In October 2014, Kim and I were on vacation in Panama City Beach. We had been in Georgia for 2 years and I had been working like a dog. We were in the condo one morning and the Lord spoke so clear to me. He was telling me to start a new church. A church that would focus on discipleship the way I knew it could and should be. I looked at Kim and said, “I think the Lord is wanting me to start a church.” Without hesitation she replied, “Let do it.” We started brain storming together as she made breakfast. I started saying things like...

People need the depth of the Word of God.

The people of God must learn to walk by faith.

We need a church in this town that understands biblical disipleship.

We need to build the kingdom of God for His glory and honor.

By the time we ate breakfast, Reliant was born. For the rest of the trip Reliant was all we talked about. We finalized the core values and the mission statement on the drive home. “Producing Jesus follower of faith that expand God’s kingdom.” The vision was clear, but everything else was blurry. I had never started a church from scratch. But I knew God was in the driver’s seat.

We came home and I had a conversation with my Pastor at the time. As I shared what God was doing, he said, “I knew this conversation was coming.” He gave his blessing and we set my last day as January 15, 2015. As my last day approached Kim said to me, “How are we going to do this?” I replied, “I am going to do what I know. I know how to preach and I know how to disciple. Let’s open the garage doors of the house and have church.” I had never been exposed to “church planting” organizations or anything like that. I had always heard of people buying one way tickets and trusting God. So, that what we did.

Through the transitional months, we had been meeting on Monday nights with a handful of people that shared this vision of discipleship (Alan Pollack’s family and Brant Griewitch’s family). Then we started holding Wednesday night meeting with a few more that had trickled in. But on February 1, 2015 we held our first Sunday morning service in my garage complete with parking attendance in the col-de-sac. People started coming. We began our discipleship ministry. The church was off and running. On our first Easter we had 50 people scattered through my house with ministry on every floor.

That’s when I was introduced to the church planting world of assessments, training, and fundraising. This little infant church was adopted by Life Bridge Church in Kennesaw. After 9 months of care and training, they relaunched Reliant in Acworth at CK Dance Works on March 6, 2016 with 200 people in attendance and baptizing 4 on opening day. The next week we were a Church of 100 strong. God continued to bless and we continued to disciple.

While I was on a mission trip in Arminia in September of 2017, Kim called me and said, “There’s a church near Dallas that is wanting to sell their building and wondering if we would be interested in buying it.” I said, “Absolutely, I will pursue it as soon as I get home.” And on November 5, 2017 we had our first meeting in this building. With no advertisement or marketing, we held one service and it was packed: wall to wall people, and the parking lot was overflowing. We immediately had to go to two services. We had found our home and community. We began to pray and ask God to show us how we could share His love with the people of Dallas and the surrounding county.

Ministry has always been good but not always easy. As in any organization it falls on the leader to protect and propel the mission forward and I made some hard decisions in November of 2019. And although the decisions were right, they were painful and we needed a minute to recover. But just about the time we got the wind back in our sails, Covid would strip us down again. We didn’t meet for 3 months. I felt led to reopen the church on May 31, 2020, which was much sooner than other churches, and the church began to grow even through the pandemic. At the end of 2020 God opened a door for us to buy 27 acres of land right next to Paulding County High School. I thought we were crazy to buy during the pandemic. But the board and I were clear that this was a movement from God. So, we secured a lease to purchase in the amount of $380,000. It was a steal.

We celebrated our 5 year anniversary, March 7, 2021 on the new land. (Yes, in the middle of the pandemic.) That was Torin Crittenden’s first official day as the worship leader of Reliant. I felt the momentum coming back. The Spirit was stirring. In December of that same year we had our first ordination ceremony in which we ordained Torin Crittenden, Danny Abell, and Mark Owens to join me as the pastoral staff of Reliant.

Which brings us to today. March 6, 2022 our official sixth year anniversary. And the beginning of a new era we are calling “Climb”

Exodus 34:1–9 ESV

The Lord said to Moses, “Cut for yourself two tablets of stone like the first, and I will write on the tablets the words that were on the first tablets, which you broke. Be ready by the morning, and come up in the morning to Mount Sinai, and present yourself there to me on the top of the mountain. No one shall come up with you, and let no one be seen throughout all the mountain. Let no flocks or herds graze opposite that mountain.” So Moses cut two tablets of stone like the first. And he rose early in the morning and went up on Mount Sinai, as the Lord had commanded him, and took in his hand two tablets of stone. The Lord descended in the cloud and stood with him there, and proclaimed the name of the Lord. The Lord passed before him and proclaimed, “The Lord, the Lord, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, but who will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children and the children’s children, to the third and the fourth generation.” And Moses quickly bowed his head toward the earth and worshiped. And he said, “If now I have found favor in your sight, O Lord, please let the Lord go in the midst of us, for it is a stiff-necked people, and pardon our iniquity and our sin, and take us for your inheritance.”

State of the Church

People: 257 people have attended something that the church this year.

238 people in January 2022 (232 in 21; 247 in 20)

239 people in February 2022 (235 in 21; 236 in 20)

Ministry:

4 Baptisms since Christmas Eve.

New Pastors in Rkidz and Discipleship

The first Financial Peace Class

3 graduates from Jobs for life (all outside church)

Exodus 34:29–33 ESV

When Moses came down from Mount Sinai, with the two tablets of the testimony in his hand as he came down from the mountain, Moses did not know that the skin of his face shone because he had been talking with God. Aaron and all the people of Israel saw Moses, and behold, the skin of his face shone, and they were afraid to come near him. But Moses called to them, and Aaron and all the leaders of the congregation returned to him, and Moses talked with them. Afterward all the people of Israel came near, and he commanded them all that the Lord had spoken with him in Mount Sinai. And when Moses had finished speaking with them, he put a veil over his face.

2 Corinthians 3:12–18 ESV

Since we have such a hope, we are very bold, not like Moses, who would put a veil over his face so that the Israelites might not gaze at the outcome of what was being brought to an end. But their minds were hardened. For to this day, when they read the old covenant, that same veil remains unlifted, because only through Christ is it taken away. Yes, to this day whenever Moses is read a veil lies over their hearts. But when one turns to the Lord, the veil is removed. Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.

Climb Initiative:

Total Raised $480,498.88 (January 2021 - present)

Total Spent $492,115.77 (January 2021 - present)

Ministry = $409, 385.97

New Property = $53,397.44 (lease, surveys, engineers and architects)

Current property = $29,332.36 (loan and lease payment)

Bank Totals $207,834

$41,397 undesignated

$165,912 designated for building

Answering the Why?

Why new land?

Why new buildings?

Why new community enrichment programs?

The answer is very simple: Our community needs our influence of the gospel message of Christ. And “Ministry runs on the rails of relationships.”

If we are going to “Produce Jesus followers of faith that expand God’s kingdom” we must meet people where they are and build new relationships.

Answering the How?

Pray! Pray! Pray!

22 Days of prayer.

Pray in expectation.

Expand the Ministry

89 family units of Members and active attenders.

55 giving family units (62%)

34 non-giving family units (38%)

Potential estimated giving increase of $8700 a month ($104,400 annually)

Stay faithful; or the faithful.

10 families = $5,000 a month ($60,000 annually)

Community Climb Initiatives.

Make a faith pledge to Climb.

Exodus 35:4–11 ESV

Moses said to all the congregation of the people of Israel, “This is the thing that the Lord has commanded. Take from among you a contribution to the Lord. Whoever is of a generous heart, let him bring the Lord’s contribution: gold, silver, and bronze; blue and purple and scarlet yarns and fine twined linen; goats’ hair, tanned rams’ skins, and goatskins; acacia wood, oil for the light, spices for the anointing oil and for the fragrant incense, and onyx stones and stones for setting, for the ephod and for the breastpiece. “Let every skillful craftsman among you come and make all that the Lord has commanded: the tabernacle, its tent and its covering, its hooks and its frames, its bars, its pillars, and its bases;

Attend the Climb Initiative on March 19th @ 10:00am

Pray for God to move in our community through the two Community Climb Initiatives on March 24th & 31st.

Invite! Invite! Invite!