Throughout the fall of last year, we began praying for and recruiting a core team of people that we wanted to move with us. Jacqueline and I really wanted to take a trip to North Port, so she could finally see it in the flesh, but also because we wanted to take some of the couples with kids down as well. We planned a trip for February 7–15, and in January, we made the big ask of our friends.

We asked one of my best friends, Jason Martin and his wife Paige to come with us. Jason and I have talked about planting a church for over 10 years. He was my college roommate and had helped me start a young adult ministry during my time in Cleveland. Jason is one of the most talented worship leaders I have ever encountered, and we really hoped they would come and catch the vision for North Port with us.

The other couple that we asked to join us on this adventure was the Leavertons. We met Shawn and Valerie while we were working at the Home for Children in Sevierville, Tennessee. I actually knew Valerie before that from my days at Lee. I remember the first time Jacqueline mentioned them to me… we were making a list of who we considered dream team members. They weren’t even on my radar, but when she said their names, I just felt my spirit leap. I initially ruled them out because I knew that they had suffered greatly during some tumultuous times at the Home. To our shock and utter delight, they said they would come and check it out with us, although they said they didn’t know why we were asking them!

Jacqueline and I began mapping out what the trip would look like. We had never done this before, nor had we ever been on a trip like this ourselves. We were so nervous. I mean, how do you convince completely sane people to pack up their families and move away from everything and everyone they know to chase a crazy dream that God has given you?  We put a tentative schedule together and hoped that in three short days we could share enough stories and reveal enough passion that they would sense the call of God to follow His dream.

Our trip was so wonderful. We arrived on a Wednesday night and began by spending some time with Jacqueline’s cousin and her husband, who just two-and-half years ago decided to relocate to Sarasota from Atlanta (hmmm, interesting!?). We had set up a meeting for Thursday with the Church of God State officials in Tampa to discuss our progress and see what the next steps were in order to plant. We had an incredible meeting and felt tons of support from the leadership.

Later that same day, we were finally on our way to North Port. As we drove down the highway, I realized that we would be passing a large ARC church in Bradenton, so I begged Jacqueline’s forgiveness for delaying her fulfillment a little longer and got off the exit. I had made a relationship with one of the pastors at ARC’s Bayside Community Church, named Mark Mateer. I thought we might run in and meet face-to-face briefly.  Unfortunately, he was out of the office, but while speaking to him on the phone, he offered to take Jacqueline, myself, and the two other couples out to dinner with he and his wife. I was blown away by his generosity.

When we finally made it to North Port that day, Jacqueline’s reaction was as immediate and overwhelming as mine had been a few months earlier. I have to be honest and tell you that I felt quite nervous that she might not like it there, or that she would think I was crazy for settling on this place. I was a little nervous with her driving that day… there was a lot of crying and emotional moments. We dreamed together and really sensed God’s presence all day… We knew that this was Home.

On Friday, I set up our bank account and Jacqueline met with the City Planner. When we met back up, Jacqueline shared all of the amazing things that the City Planner had told her, and the amazing reaction he had as she told him what we were coming to do. Jacqueline said, “I told him that we were relocating to North Port to start a church, and he sat back in his chair and starting clapping!” He went on to say that “the families of North Port have been waiting on you!” It was another one of God’s exclamation points.

After we left those meetings, we headed to meet up with a Church of God pastor in the next town over… Port Charlotte. His name is Osborne Ramkissoon; we learned that he would be our district overseer for the Church of God in Florida. We went not expecting too much, other than pleasant conversation, but were in for quite a shock. After a few minutes of sharing our story and the vision we believe God gave us for North Port, he began to share some things with us. At first the stories he was sharing about his church and the daycare that it ran seemed odd and out of place, but soon enough he paused and asked if we wanted to know why he was sharing this information. We acknowledged that we did, and he said, “I’m going to sponsor your church.” I looked at him in utter disbelief, “What did you say?” He responded, “Your wife just said you needed a co-signer for the ARC loan, right?” Me: “Yes.” Pastor Oz: “Well, I’m going to do it!” Me: Speechless and crying. Pastor Oz: “I’ll tell you why… I started a church in Miami 25 years ago, and nobody helped me. I told God that if He put me in a position to help someone, that when He sent them, I’d help.  He sent you, and I’m helping!”

We were overwhelmed by this gesture of generosity and the affirmation of God’s involvement in our decision to plant. Pastor Oz went on to tell us that he had tried several times to convince friends of his to move to North Port and start a church in the area. He said it just never worked out, but that now he understood why. We talked for a while longer about many things, including our passion for the University of Miami… Go Canes!

That evening we picked up our team from the airport and caught up on the way to dinner with the Mateers. Pastor Mark and his wife Julie decided to meet us for dinner near the airport in St. Petersburg. We had an amazing conversation over dinner and imposed way too much on their time. They openly affirmed our calling as we shared vision with them and our team. At times they would both tear up as we shared the stories of God’s goodness in our journey so far. Julie said that she felt honored to sit with us, stating that she knew that God was doing amazing things and the Holy Spirit was confirming it in her spirit as we shared.

After dinner we headed to our hotel near North Port. The trip was a mixture of lots of questions and moments of silent contemplation. On Saturday, we went exploring around North Port to get a better feel for where things were. We visited one of the locations that we are considering renting for our initial meetings; it was an exciting moment for everyone.  The afternoon brought an unexpected downturn of emotions and physical sickness as the weight of decisions were realized by all parties. Thankfully, a trip to the beach and an amazing worship service at Bayside helped to right the ship.

After the services at Bayside that night, Lead Pastor and ARC A-Team member, Randy Bezet, spent a little time with our team. We joined he and his wife in their green room for an impromptu Q&A session. This was great for our prospective team, as it gave them a chance to discuss openly some of their concerns, as well as hear the stories of a seasoned church planter. It also gave them a chance to get better acquainted with the style of ARC’s leadership.

On Sunday we had the privilege of joining T.J. and Leah Hankey for their third-ever service at The Shore Church in Sarasota. It was a great service and the atmosphere created by the volunteers was exciting. We had a great time seeing what we could expect as a fledgling church. We spent the early part of the afternoon enjoying lunch with the team, the Hankeys and the Upshaws (Jacqueline’s cousin). Talk about a dream team!! The rest of our trip was spent relaxing and dreaming together. It was an amazing experience.

After we dropped the team off at the airport on Monday, Jacqueline and I just sat in the car and stared at each other. I was the first to speak, and I said “I really didn’t want them to leave… I just wanted them to keep doing life with us.” It felt so right, being in that van together. I really felt that God had knit our hearts together, and I was unhappy about being apart! The entire trip was one testimony after another to the greatness of our God.  Nothing really went as I planned… It went better, because God showed up and showed off!

Brian