On August 17, 2014, Hope City House of Prayer will celebrate 3 full years of ministry. As the pastor of this church, these past few 
years have been adventurous to say the least. I’ve been heartbroken, healed, seen my own failures, and helped many battle through their own. I’ve had to appear strong and at times had to appear weak. I’ve endeavoured by the grace of God to be as transparent as possible, to never look or act as though I’ve arrived or that I’m perfect. I’m sure my congregation would agree that I’m successful at being normal. 🙂 As I’ve been reflecting on the past 3 years I’d like to take some time and simply share a few things I’ve learned with those of you who would like to learn from my mistakes as well as a few things I did right by the grace of God. When I planted this church, all I had was a word from God. No money, no team, no sound equipment, no expertise… just a word from God, a vision of a generation being awakened, and a childlike faith.
Vision: “Where there is no vision, the people perish…” ( Proverbs 29:18)
As a young man, The Lord gave me a vision of a generation that loved Him radically. I would often spend all night in prayer between the ages of 19-25 dreaming, praying, writing, visualizing, and hoping that somehow God would win the heart of my friends and all the people of this world with His great love. I was a bit of a loner as a young man, I had friends, but I spent most of my time with Jesus. Our hearts were so glued together that nothing was able to come between our love. I met a Father who loved me so deeply, who never gave up on me, who believed in me, and who wanted me to truly know Him for eternity. As a young man, this set my heart ablaze, I found myself sharing Jesus with everyone I met. Every job I had, whether it was retail, fast food, or the call center… it was my mission field. Every classroom became my church, I eagerly shared the gospel with everyone I met. Now of course I failed, I struggled, I battled the flesh.. but I was a man in love.. in love with a savior. I knew first hand of His power, for I myself had been set free. I vividly even to this day and at this moment as I type remember what a life apart from the love and peace of Christ was like. I had been forgiven much, therefore I love much.
As I grew in love with God, I began to become a man of prayer. I met Jesus the great intercessor, the one “who ever lives to make intercession for the saints according to the will of God”. In the place of prayer as a college student, The Lord would begin breaking my hearts not just for the campus, or the city, but for the nations of the earth.. soon a desire was birthed in my heart to become a missionary. However, unlike many, I had no supernatural visitation from angels, nor was it a prophecy that compelled me. As the Apostle Paul said “The love of Christ compels me”. I had fallen so deeply in love with Jesus that sharing the message of hope, freedom, and love became more than a “calling” or a “mandate”, but the greatest joy and desire of my heart. As I grew in the understanding of prayer and spiritual warfare, I realized early on, that the battles and wars among men, are really the manifestation of the war in the heart and for the heart of men. I was moved by compassion for the world, that same compassion which moved my Jesus to die for me, when I was yet a sinner… I began preaching, I continued weeping, and God began sending me. Between the ages of 22-25 for about 4 years, countless doors opened up for me to travel internationally, and throughout the USA, telling of the love and redeeming power of Christ. I met thousands of people, prayed for hundreds who were healed, I saw the paralyzed regain movement, the eyes of the blind open, demons were cast out, even once the dead was raised. But more than that, I saw the hearts of men, women, boys, and girls from every nation tribe and tongue, surrender to the power of Jesus Christ, I saw atheist turn to worshipers, hindus, Buddhist, and muslims turn to Jesus, breaking idols, denouncing family religions, and running to Christ… This all created a vision of what God wanted to do here at Hope City House of Prayer.
CALLING: “For whosoever shall call upon the name of The Lord shall be saved. How then shall they call upon Him in whom they have not believed? And How shall they believe in whom they have not heard, and how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach, except they be sent..” ( Romans 10:13-15)
During the summer of 2011 I was wrestling between becoming a full-time missionary in India, or returning to America. The Lord ordered my steps back to Ohio. What a gracious God! As Hope City began in Aug. of 2011, I was equipped with the vision, and the foundation to begin this great work for The Lord. Within a few months of our establishment, The Lord saw fit to bring many willing helpers, co-laborers, musicians, singers, and intercessors of every sort. In the past 3 years thousands of people have visited, hundreds have joined, dozens have been baptized, and God gets all the glory. I’ve learned through many sleepless nights of what it means to trust in God. Listed below are the top 5 lessons I’ve learned in these past 3 years.
1. Keep Going:
The temptation to quit seems to always be there… but I’ve learned that no matter what God has called us, equipped us, and ordained us to keep going. When ministry seems to get the most of us, when people betray you, gossip, and dishonor you… the natural response is quit.. but not so in the Kingdom, we must keep going!
2. Keep Loving:
Being a Christian is certainly challenging enough, being a pastor is perhaps toughest of them all. While I am just a man, I am responsible for being an example of The Lord God’s love to those in the church. It gets tough, real tough, some people make it even tougher… yet, I’ve learned to keep loving. To show mercy, because after all God has shown me immense mercy! To win the spiritual war… enduring love is the surefire way to victory.
3. Prioritize people over projects:
It’s so easy to get caught up in the next big event, service, outreach, or meeting… To be a successful leader, you must prioritize people, with no agenda, or secret motive, but genuinely investing in people and showing concern for them. I’ve learned that people are more important than projects. Jesus wants souls, not goals, and hearts over charts!
4. Spend time with God outside of ministry.
Ezekiel 44 talks about a group of heroic men known as the “sons of Zadok” This group of priest had special access to God, when their counterparts did not. The other priest had access to men, the sons of Zadok had access to God. It’s amazing that in ministry we can so easily settle for the pulpit and forsake the throne room. God is raising up a generation of ministers who seek His face and love Him more than what they do for Him. Fight for this reality in your life. Never substitute the stage lights for the lamp of intimacy in the heart.
5. Bless those who curse you:
As a young man I’ve endured A LOT…. ministry is tough, even tougher on young people called to lead. I’ve dealt with hatred from fellow pastors, jealousy, and much envy. I’ve had people leave the church and speak negatively, we’ve had an assortment of so many things that would cause the average man to give up, I learned early on that the secret to growing in love is to follow the words of Matthew 5, where Jesus says “Bless those who curse you and pray for those who spitefully use you”. The persecution, is a guarantee, the unfounded slander is likely… yet as a leader we must choose to bless those who curse us and to love our enemies.
I have not been anywhere near perfect, nor is Hope City the perfect church, but we are greatly blessed by God because we are aiming at eternity and focusing on Jesus as we ascend the hill. Our hearts yet burn for Christ… and by the grace of God, may we enter into the fullness of all He dreams for our city, nation, and generation. May He continue to give me strength, wisdom, and His heart to do my job well. Thank you for those who have prayed for us. You carry the weight. You have kept us out of harms way. To God be glory for all the things which He has done and will continue to do.
I simply want to tell you that I am just newbie to weblog and absolutely liked your blog site. More than likely I’m likely to bookmark your blog . You absolutely have really good article content. Many thanks for sharing with us your web-site.
I simply want to mention I am just newbie to blogs and certainly liked your blog. Most likely I’m going to bookmark your site . You absolutely come with awesome well written articles. Thank you for revealing your web-site.
If you’re still on the fence: grab your favorite earphones, head down to a Best Buy and ask to plug them into a Zune then an iPod and see which one sounds better to you, and which interface makes you smile more. Then you’ll know which is right for you.
This is a splendid post. Thanks a lot for spending some time to describe this all out for all of us. It truly is a great guide!
Wow, wonderful weblog structure! How long have you ever been running a blog for? you made blogging look easy. The whole glance of your web site is excellent, let alone the content!
Great post. I was checking continuously this blog and I am impressed! Very useful information particularly the last part 🙂 I care for such information much. I was seeking this particular info for a long time. Thank you and best of luck.
Hi my loved one! I want to say that this post is awesome, great written and come with almost all vital infos. I¡¦d like to look more posts like this .
I savour, cause I found exactly what I used to be taking a look for. You have ended my four day lengthy hunt! God Bless you man. Have a nice day. Bye
obviously like your website but you need to test the spelling on several of your posts. A number of them are rife with spelling issues and I find it very troublesome to tell the truth nevertheless I¡¦ll definitely come back again.
very nice blog!
hey there and thank you for your info – I have certainly picked up anything new from right here. I did however expertise a few technical points using this site, since I experienced to reload the web site many times previous to I could get it to load properly. I had been wondering if your web hosting is OK? Not that I am complaining, but sluggish loading instances times will often affect your placement in google and could damage your high quality score if advertising and marketing with Adwords. Anyway I am adding this RSS to my email and could look out for much more of your respective intriguing content. Ensure that you update this again soon..
I have been checking out many of your posts and it’s pretty clever stuff. I will definitely bookmark your site.
Great ¡V I should definitely pronounce, impressed with your website. I had no trouble navigating through all tabs and related information ended up being truly simple to do to access. I recently found what I hoped for before you know it in the least. Quite unusual. Is likely to appreciate it for those who add forums or anything, site theme . a tones way for your customer to communicate. Excellent task..
Thank you so much for giving everyone an extraordinarily superb possiblity to read articles and blog posts from this site. It really is very pleasing plus stuffed with a great time for me personally and my office co-workers to visit your blog not less than 3 times weekly to find out the new guidance you have got. And definitely, I’m actually happy with your powerful principles you serve. Certain two areas on this page are definitely the finest we have all had.
But wanna input on few general things, The website layout is perfect, the content is real wonderful. “Believe those who are seeking the truth. Doubt those who find it.” by Andre Gide.
Very interesting subject, thank you for putting up.
I have fun with, lead to I discovered exactly what I used to be looking for. You have ended my four day long hunt! God Bless you man. Have a great day. Bye
It¡¦s actually a nice and useful piece of information. I¡¦m satisfied that you just shared this useful information with us. Please stay us up to date like this. Thanks for sharing.
You actually make it seem so easy with your presentation but I find this matter to be actually something that I think I would never understand. It seems too complicated and extremely broad for me. I’m looking forward for your next post, I will try to get the hang of it!
I have been exploring for a little bit for any high-quality articles or weblog posts on this sort of house . Exploring in Yahoo I at last stumbled upon this site. Studying this information So i¡¦m satisfied to express that I have an incredibly excellent uncanny feeling I discovered just what I needed. I most surely will make sure to do not omit this web site and provides it a look on a relentless basis.
I would like to thnkx for the efforts you have put in writing this web site. I am hoping the same high-grade web site post from you in the upcoming also. Actually your creative writing skills has encouraged me to get my own blog now. Really the blogging is spreading its wings quickly. Your write up is a good example of it.
I dugg some of you post as I cogitated they were very beneficial very useful
Goоd day very cool blog!! Guy .. Beɑutiful ..
Superb .. I’ll Ć„ooĐşmark ypur wеbsite and take the feeds also?
I am glad to search out a lot of helpful information right here within the put up, wе need work ouut
etra techniques on this regard, thanks for sharing.
. . . . .
My bâ…Ľog … tool hack spam
Este artĂculo realmente me hizo reflexionar sobre la importancia de contenedores para reciclaje.
This is my first time pay a quick visit at here and i am genuinely happy to read
all at alone place.
This information is worth everyone’s attention. How can I find out more?
I truly love your site.. Pleasant colors & theme. Did you create this amazing site yourself?
Please reply back as I’m trying to create my own personal site and would like to
know where you got this from or exactly what the theme is named.
Appreciate it!
Hey! I know this is sort of off-topic but I needed to ask.
Does operating a well-established blog such as yours take a large amount
of work? I am completely new to operating a blog
however I do write in my journal daily. I’d like to start a blog so I will
be able to share my own experience and feelings online. Please let me know if you have any
kind of recommendations or tips for new aspiring bloggers.
Appreciate it!
I am really enjoying the theme/design of your
blog. Do you ever run into any web browser compatibility problems?
A small number of my blog visitors have complained about my blog not working correctly in Explorer but looks
great in Opera. Do you have any tips to help fix this problem?
I don’t even know the way I ended up right here, but I thought this post was great.
I don’t recognise who you’re however certainly you’re
going to a well-known blogger in the event you are not already.
Cheers!
My family members all the time say that I am killing my time here at net, except I
know I am getting experience every day by reading such pleasant content.
Hey I know this is off topic but I was wondering if you knew of any widgets I could add to my blog that
automatically tweet my newest twitter updates. I’ve been looking for
a plug-in like this for quite some time and was hoping maybe you would have some experience with something like this.
Please let me know if you run into anything. I truly enjoy reading your blog and I look forward to your new updates.
I am really loving the theme/design of your web site.
Do you ever run into any internet browser compatibility issues?
A few of my blog readers have complained about my blog not working correctly in Explorer but
looks great in Firefox. Do you have any tips to
help fix this issue?
What’s Taking place i’m new to this, I stumbled upon this I’ve discovered It absolutely useful and
it has helped me out loads. I hope to give a contribution & assist different customers like its helped
me. Great job.
Hello! I just wanted to ask if you ever have any issues with
hackers? My last blog (wordpress) was hacked and
I ended up losing months of hard work due to no back up. Do you have any methods to stop hackers?
Fantastic beat ! I would like to apprentice while you amend your
site, how could i subscribe for a blog website? The account
aided me a acceptable deal. I had been tiny
bit acquainted of this your broadcast provided bright clear
concept
I read this paragraph fully on the topic of the resemblance of most up-to-date and
previous technologies, it’s amazing article.
of course like your web-site however you
need to take a look at the spelling on several of your posts.
Many of them are rife with spelling issues and I to find it very bothersome
to tell the truth however I will surely come back again.
This article is truly a pleasant one it helps new web people, who are wishing in favor of blogging.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts. I truly appreciate your efforts and I am waiting
for your next write ups thanks once again.
hey there and thank you for your info – I’ve certainly picked up
something new from right here. I did however expertise some technical
points using this website, since I experienced to reload the site a lot
of times previous to I could get it to load correctly.
I had been wondering if your hosting is OK? Not that I am complaining, but slow
loading instances times will sometimes affect your placement in google and
can damage your high-quality score if ads and marketing with Adwords.
Anyway I am adding this RSS to my e-mail and can look out for a lot more of your respective
exciting content. Ensure that you update this again very
soon.
It’s actually a cool and useful piece of info.
I’m happy that you just shared this helpful information with
us. Please keep us up to date like this. Thank you for sharing.
Hi it’s me, I am also visiting this site on a regular basis, this website is actually good and the visitors are truly sharing fastidious thoughts.
Nice post. I was checking constantly this blog and
I am impressed! Extremely useful info specially the last part 🙂 I care for such
information much. I wwas seeking this particular info for a very
long time. Thank you and good luck.