Location, Location, Location!

One of the most difficult decisions regarding the planting of the new AMI church in the Bay Area has been the question of where to begin.  I feel confident that God has called me and my family to Northern California but narrowing down the specific location of our ministry has been an on-going matter of prayer.  We have entertained thoughts ranging from Mountain View to San Francisco and everywhere in between including East Palo Alto (although everyone seemed very fearful of this option).  All I can say is that I have been as open as possible to the Holy Spirit's leading regarding this very important matter but with the realization that there are many competing voices when it comes down to hearing from the Lord.

As Christians, we are guided first and foremost by the objective truth of Scripture but we are also led by our subjective interpretation of circumstance, intuition, and what we believe we have heard from God's Spirit.  In decisions like this, no one can be 100% sure that they have heard from God accurately but at the same time there is no benefit to constantly questioning every decision that has to be made. Many times like Abraham, we simply have to obey God's command to go and worry about the details later.

When we first made the decision to move up to the Bay Area, it was with the purpose of reaching the city of San Francisco. Those convictions have remained the same and I pray that this is the Lord's doing.  I sense that God is getting ready to do something in this great city and I hope to be a part of that.  In the weeks and months to come,  I pray that the Lord will clarify His vision for this new church and bring the right people together for this exciting work.