The following is a post originally published November 3, 2012.
Lori and I thought God was calling us to plant a church for a long time before there was any action taken. It began with conversations here and there all surrounded by much prayer. We had come to a pretty definite conclusion about three years before the first home meetings began. We knew God was equipping us through great relationships and ministry experiences in that season, and we were waiting on him to give us the green light.
My way of coping with this passion while being engaged in other areas of ministry was frequent prayer trips. I would drive down into the neighborhoods around Cinco Blvd and pray over the homes that were being built. I would sit in the school parking lots and pray scriptures like Acts 2 over the homes that were being constructed. Although I had no idea where this church would meet, I would sit in the Kilpatrick Elementary parking lot and pray…. other days and times I would drive over to the construction site of Seven Lakes High School and sit in that parking lot with my Bible open, praying for the community and the people God would bring from all over the world to call this place home.
It has been such a blessing to meet families who have arrived at our church and now live on the streets where I have driven countless times and prayed…. over the very lots on which their homes are now built. Our story, maybe above everything else, is a story of God’s faithfulness.
We finally felt God pushing us to a point of action and I began sharing the vision that we knew God had implanted in our hearts. As I began to share, I was met with constant encouragement and affirmation from Godly men and great mentors that God had used throughout my life.
I remember one day taking one of those life-long friends and mentors with me on a prayer drive. I drove him to all of the spots where I had spent countless hours praying and I shared with him all that God was doing in our hearts. In a way that only God can work, that conversation met perfectly with the timing of some God-wrought vision and financial giving at the church where he pastored. I had no idea how the coming days would be so confirming of all that God had been saying to my family.
Matt
Matt Powell serves as teaching pastor at Crossings Community Church, a body of believers whose mission is to engage, equip, and empower homes for gospel transformation in Katy, TX.