I know, it’s hard to see how those two things connect.  Let me explain.

When I was younger, a teenager, and had just come to know Jesus – I really believed that God loved the whole world and sent His Son to die for everyone – that whoever believes in Him would not perish but have everlasting life – phew!

As I have aged, I have found myself starting to believe that there is only a percentage of people who will really believe this and so it’s only possible for most or some people to come to know Jesus (this is one of those things you would never say out loud, but most people really think it).  I know that verse doesn’t say that everyone will come to know Jesus – but it sure does say that He died for everyone.  Jesus came so that people would have life – all people!  I don’t believe that God was willing to settle for a percentage and the rest are just damned to hell.  I think God is an optimist, hoping that none would perish, as 2 Peter 3:9 says.

So the question I have been asking myself lately, is:

Am I crazy enough to believe that we can reach everyone with the Gospel and see their lives turned around for eternity?

It makes me ask some questions, that’s for sure.

• What are the barriers in each persons life that need to be removed so they can see the living Christ and His sacrifice for what it is?
• How must I live my life differently?
• How should the church reallocate it’s dollars and volunteer hours?

So, am I that crazy?  I think so.  I am a “Wild and Crazy Guy…”

• Rocky Mountain Christian Church
• LIfebridge Christian Church
• Flatiron Community Church

Each one was a little different.  What impressed me about each was how well targeted they were to the group of people they were trying to reach.  Each one was completely different, but perfect for their audience. 

Flatiron was the most like what I would like to be as a Church Plant.  They were reaching young adults and families who were really disconnected from God.  They have 5 or 6 services and at the one we were at they had at least 60 baptisms, it was amazing! 

I think the biggest thing I am learning is that God is the one who leads, it is simply up to us to be sensitive to that lead. 

Would you be praying with Jenni and I as we seek to follow His lead to reach the disconnected in the Kansas City area.  I am praying that God would expand me as a leader so we could infect the most people possible with the Kingdom!

Revelation 2:4-5

Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken your first love.  Remember the height from which you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first.

I started thinking about how I lived life when I first came to know Jesus.  I remember picking people up and giving them rides, I remember giving money because I had been given so much (through Jesus), I remember praying like everything depended on it and reading the scripture like it was a cool drink for a parched throat.

It has been funny how stepping out on faith has forced me back into that person again.  It is like I had been looking through rose colored lenses and now I see things as they are.  Every step seems more important, every conversation takes has a different tone.  It’s like I am back at that place with God where everything is new and trust and hope are the only things I’ve got!

For me, all of this comes down to one thing. There are people out there who still do not know Jesus! That is the real “cost” thats burning inside me, that is what keeps me up at night.

“What was your inspiration for tackling spirituality on television, examining the idea of a modern-day prophet?Spirituality really seems to be in the zeitgeist these days, particularly with the popularity of The Secret. We think it’s a reaction to spirituality being co-opted for political purposes in this country recently. Everybody is spiritual to some degree and many people are tired of feeling as if they need to practice a one, specific religion in order to feel legitimately spiritual. We see this show as, in part, returning ownership of spirituality to everyone.”

While Christianity is on the decline in our society, I think the environment which we find ourselves is fertile for the ideas of Jesus. It is time we lose our religion and introduce people to a relationship with Jesus! If anything, shows like Eli Stone point to the fact that people are curiously seeking for something deeper and more meaningful – I hope and pray that we can capture this moment and capitalize on it for the Kingdom!

I am encouraged to be a part of a group of people who carry on that legacy of faith to this day! Jenni and I have been embraced by our friends and family at BCC when they very easily could have turned their backs and said, “fuh-ee (I have no idea how to spell that) on you!” We have experienced the exact opposite – we have had only encouragement and pledged support. I only hope that as Jenni and I step out and carry the legacy of faith with us, that we do honor to those who are sending us! I could not have chosen a better place to carry out the last 6 years of growing in ministry and life!

21To those not having the law I became like one not having the law (though I am not free from God’s law but am under Christ’s law), so as to win those not having the law. 22To the weak I became weak, to win the weak. I have become all things to all men so that by all possible means I might save some. 23I do all this for the sake of the gospel, that I may share in its blessings.

Boy, yesterday Bob Bates preached on the passion of Jesus for the Lost and did a great job bringing it to life!

You can hear in Paul’s words above the heart of Jesus beating strong. I love that Paul was willing to become whatever to whoever in order that he might save even just a few! What a strong statement of commitment to the gospel. I want to be an “all in” kind of guy! Too many people are dying without Jesus – they are too important!

Bob talked about Luke 15:7 – “I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent.” Man, if I could give my life to one thing, it would be ensuring that there is constant partying in Heaven – we must reach those who are disconnected and far from God – plain and simple!

Dear Friends and Family,

It has been six years since I began working as the High School Youth Minister for Bible Christian Church. I have had the distinct pleasure of working with many of your teenage sons and daughters and seeing them through those tough adolescent years. I would not trade one minute from those years with your students. Both Jenni and I have counted it as a true privilege to serve at Bible Christian Church.

Over the past six years, God has been growing inside of me an overwhelming desire to plant a new church. Let me tell you where this desire comes from and where it does not come from. IT DOES come from the fact that in the US there is not one county that has more people going to church in it now than it did 10 years ago (let that soak in). IT DOES come from the fact that Nearly 4,000 churches close their doors every year! GET THIS out of 194 nations, only 11 has more unchurched people than the United States. Churches are losing ground – fast. Lost people matter to God and church planting is one of the most effective means of evangelism. This is where the desire comes from, it comes from a true passion to see those who are disconnected and far from God come home to Jesus!

This desire DOES NOT come from some problem within Bible Christian Church, I love this Church and if anything, I want to take the great things about BCC with us! As a matter of fact, Jenni and I do not look at this transition to Church Planting as us leaving, rather we look at it as being missionaries sent from BCC. IT DOES NOT come from me being tired of youth ministry or our students, the kids in our youth ministry are the finest around, I would never leave them for anything but the call of God on Mine and Jenni’s life. IT DOES NOT come from some issue with the staff or elders, if anything I am closer with these guys and gals than ever! They are not only quality leaders but truly the finest leaders I have had the privilege of serving with! I hope you can see that this is not a decision based on some negative result flowing out from BCC, but an overwhelming desire to reach lost people. Peter Wagner (no relation) says that church planting is “the single most effective evangelistic methodology under heaven.” If that is the case, then I can see nothing more important than giving my life to that cause!

I know there are a ton of questions you may have, and I would love to sit down and answer all of them. I imagine that a few of you may be asking yourself, “Aren’t new churches competing with existing churches?” This is a common misconception among Christians – especially other leaders. The fact is that in any given community on any weekend if every seat in every church were full, 90% of the population would still have no place to attend. That is huge!

Some of you may have questions about the process or how all of this would work. The over-simplified version is that Jenni and I would raise prayer support and financial support throughout the next few months and then be sent off in January 2009 from BCC to begin the process of planting Epic Church (you can get more information on the church we will plant called Epic Church at www.epic4life.com) in the Kansas City area. We would work with area churches there to develop a launch team, do events similar to the day of service and build a group of people who are sold out to the cause of reaching disconnected people through the venture of a new church! We would have several events and preview services leading up to a grand opening in September 2009, hopefully launching with over 300 people in attendance!

Jenni and I know this is a lot to take in. I wanted to be able to say to the body of Christ at BCC how blessed we are to have you as family and friends and that we are excited about the future that God has here in Garden City and around the world. If there is one thing I know about Church planting, it is that we cannot survive without each of you praying for us and lending us your support and hearts. I want to thank you ahead of time for the generosity that I’m sure will outflow from each of you. We have been touched in such amazing ways and cannot wait to take that same spirit of love and care to people who are living in a hopeless existence in desperate need of Jesus!

Serving Christ,

Kent and Jenni Wagner

Church Planters

I have been mulling over the idea that any entrepreneurial entity in our society starts behind the 8 ball. What I mean is this: the level at which an entrepreneurs competition operates and the level of expectation from their prospective customers are at astronomically high levels.

The same is true for new Churches. Those expectation levels cross over – in ministry demands, level of quality, and personal attention.

In a perfect world a new Church would not need to start out at the same level as an established church. In the ideal world a new church could grow like a baby does – not being expected to take on adult roles until adulthood has been reached. Unfortunately, our culture has such high demands that new Churches must start out on a level that is equal to that of established Churches.

This is the reason that I am so passionate about doing everything we can on the front end to make sure that Epic Church is the very best she can be! Some people don’t understand why a new Church would need so much money to start (the average price is $300,000 over 3 years – I think this is even a little low). The reason is, people who are disconnected from Christ count! They are worth every penny and so much more. I will not allow the eternal future of those people in Kansas City that Epic Church will reach to be undervalued because the project seems to large or the number of zeros behind the $ are too daunting. I want to honor those people now; I want to work my tail off to pay the price of doing this right, on the front, so they can reap the rewards on the backside.

Isn’t that the kind of example Christ gave us, He paid on the front end so that we could be rewarded on the back end. He gave it all, so we could have it all. Simply put, $300,000 is nothing if it means seeing people who need Jesus come to know and love Him!

I was talking with a business friend today (he’s the kind of guy you want to learn from) about some of the practices they use to keep people satisfied and to encourage better business practices. One thing he said that got me really thinking was how they reward people who send business their way. His particular business gives out movie tickets to the current customers who recommend their service. I was shocked that in the church world we haven’t thought of this. I spend so much time encouraging people to bring folks to church and then don’t do anything to tell them how great it was that they followed through on that commitment to the mission of the Gospel. I want to be an encourager, someone who reinforces the positive in the body of Christ!

I’ll tell you what, people who are far from God and feel disconnected from Him deserve our very best, our top game!