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Today we had our second preview service for Aviator Church and I am simply amazed to see how God is moving greatly in our community.  It is hard to believe that Michelle, my wife, and I moved here to start this church in January this year and now we part of a growing church where we get to see God transform lives everyday.  We have been part of several dynamic churches, but I have never seen God do what he has done here.

Here are a couple of examples:

We met a lady yesterday at Old Settler’s Days in Mulvane and she told us she had heard about our church.  When we asked how, she told us that one of our Aviator Church helium balloons landed in her back yard.  She then told us that she lives in Wichita!  She was intregued by the name and checked us out online.  She told us that she was coming to our preview the next day.  She brought a friend today and her friend accepted Christ in our service.  Only God can do that!

We had a couple of parents come up to us at National night out and ask what we did to their son.  I was kind of worried at first and then they told us that since their teenage son has started volunteering at our church, he is more respectful and their life at home is now peaceful.  They told us that this was the first tangible proof that church has value they had ever experienced.

We had a couple visit us at our first service in July, make the decision to trust Jesus as their Savior and immediately jumped into the life of the church.  This weekend, they had several family members visit and the ladies mom made a major decision to recommit her life to Christ!

We have done some newspaper advertising, passed out fliers, and prayed that God would send people to our next service and this weekend we had 248 people at our service and 18 professions of faith.  Only God could do that!

What is happening through Aviator Church is not the result of cool advertising or amazing leadership.  It is truly a God thing.  We hope you will come out to our grand opening month starting September 7th and see what God is doing.

Jesus is so cool!

I haven’t been sleeping very well at night, so I come out in the living room to mess around on the computer so I don’t keep Kent up with my tossing and turning.  Well, last night, I finally decided I was getting tired around 12:30 or 1, so I went back to bed.  For those of you who don’t know, Kent snores very loudly when he’s tired.  Well, last night was no exception.  I tried to put up with it for a while, but soon it was just getting on my nerves, so I told him he was snoring.  Instead of rolling over, like he usually does, he asked me if I wanted him to “pull them down.”  I was like, “What?”  So he asked me again, “Do you want me to pull them down?”  Thinking this was hilarious, I said, “Yes, I would like you to pull them down.”  So, his arm goes up in the air over my head.  Trying not to giggle and wake him up, I asked him, “Why is your arm up there?”  “I’m pulling them down,” was his reply.  “Pulling what down?” I asked.  “The stuff for the stuff,” he said.  Then I was sure he woke up, because he kind of giggled, leaned over, and kissed me.  I then asked him what he was pulling down, and, with a small laugh, he said, “The chef menus for the night.”  Then I burst out laughing; he joined me!  We laughed over his dream for a while, then went to sleep.

This morning, when he came to say goodbye to me, I asked him if he got all the chef menus down, and he had no clue what I was talking about!  Poor guy, amnesia must have set in.  He didn’t remember our conversation.

I need to stick with this whole “getting healthy” thing – I really want to be around as long as I can to see Peter grow up!

Here are some things you can be praying about this week for Jenni and I.

1. I am interviewing with CEA of Kansas (a Church Planting organization) – please pray for wisdom for these men and for the opportunity to join together to plant Epic Church.
2. The house Jenni and I currently live in has been sold and we are waiting to hear from the people who purchased it how much they will charge us to live there.
3. Our baby & Jenni. Jenni has been such an amazing encouragement to me, but I know that she is facing a lot of tiresome days, we would love your prayers for her and the baby.
4. For the people who we will be interacting with in KC on this journey, pray that God is doing things right now to prepare for those contacts.
5. We are seeking out staffing positions and trying to find people who have the right fit.
6. Epic Church (Jenni and I) is going to be the missionary at a few camps this summer, please be praying that God uses us to ignite a passion for the Kingdom in the students we work with!

Thank you for taking the time to pray for us! We certainly need it!

So Jenni & I woke up this morning to the sight of a large evergreen split in half and fallen on our double wide. This comes less than 12 hours after hitting the deer with our car. It looks like there wasn’t any damage to the house, praise God!

I’ll tell ya, since Jenni and I have decided to plant a church we have had all kinds of problems that we normally never experience. Our transmission went out on our 2003 Honda Pilot, we have had crazy financial issues, Jenni was hit in the Honda from behind, more financial problems, deers, & trees – all within maybe 4-5 months. We have both been talking about how we have felt under attack spiritually speaking. I read Paul’s words about “Making the most of every opportunity because the days are evil” and I now understand the sense of urgency in his words. This is a battle we are in. How we respond to these physical problems will determine our spiritual journey. If we are not able to cling to our shield of faith and rest in it, then we will get bitter and resentful.

God has surely been faithful to us through this whole journey! Our transmission was replaced under a warranty we don’t have for 90% free! Jenni didn’t get hurt in the accident – nor did Barton Finkey (our baby)! The deer only damaged our car not us! Etc.

The truth is, Jesus is still God and King, and His Kingdom is all that matters. Give your life away, for His sake, and you will truly find your life!

P.S. – I soon will be trying to build a prayer team for Jenni & I and Epic Church; we would like to have at least a hundred people committed to praying for Epic Church and against Satan. Would you consider joining that effort today? We need ya in this battle!

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