The Next Step

We just wrapped up the AMI lead pastors planning retreat for 2012 in NYC and it was an incredible blessing to spend time with friends and partners in the gospel.   We talked a lot, ate even more, and just had a great time of fellowship and prayer.  When I first joined AMI five years ago, I wasn't quite sure where we were headed in terms of vision and future plans but I remember Pastor Young from Grace Covenant Church talking to me about the relational aspect of the apostolic paradigm of ministry and reminding me that where we are headed isn't as important as who we are headed there with.  Somehow by God's sovereign hand, this rag-tag group of leaders has been brought together and we now find ourselves on a bus that God seems to be taking somewhere.  If there was ever a time I needed to volunteer to spend 3 whole days in a hotel room scheduling and planning, it would definitely be with this group. 

I'm keenly aware that we have something special and that the majority of pastors in the United States don't enjoy the camarderie, accountability, mentorship, support, and laughter that is shared among the pastors of AMI.  Our philosophy is a simple one: that healthy pastors equate to healthy churches and that can only be accomplished as we link our arms together in holy fellowship.  As my family gets ready to go up to the Bay Area for our second visit later this week, it is with the faith that God will be with us and provide many people who will journey with us.  And so as we look to the next step, I find myself amazed at where the Lord is taking us and who we are going there with including the pastors but also the many people who have already been placed in Northern California for this specific purpose.  It is also reassuring to know that we are a part of something so much greater than merely the plans for a new church in the Bay Area, that already doors of opportunity to share the gospel are opening in places like Vietnam and Romania.  In God's economy, the sum is always greater than the individual components as He brings us together in love and the pursuit of His kingdom.