This is a friendly reminder to all church planters:
You’re not the first person to ever love Jesus and preach the Gospel in your community.  Unless you’re planting way on the outskirts of the middle of nowhere in some sort of deep, deep, dark jungle.  Alabama doesn’t count.

It takes nerve to start a church in a place like Charlotte.  There are so many really solid, really healthy, really remarkable churches already established in this area.  We didn’t start Elevation here because nobody else was getting the job done.  In fact, a large part of what has made our ministry fruitful is the labor of those who were plowing and sowing in this field long before we got here.

Sometimes those of us with an apostolic and pioneering edge can come across like God didn’t show up in our town till we got there.  This is preposterous.  I ask God’s forgiveness for any way that I’ve perpetuated this mentality.

This week I’ll offer a few thoughts on how we might do a better job acknowledging those who have gone before us in our cities as we seek to be a part of His movement in the places He’s positioned us.