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.
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