God gave our team in Ohio a huge vision to reach out like the “big churches” that were rocking it in Jesus name. Not that small is not effective, but I am a Peter kind of leader and want to see 3K saved in 1 day and actually GO INTO ALL THE WORLD.

We invited some people to come to the middle of a cornfield in Ohio to our first plant: NEW HOPE COMMUNITY CHURCH. We wanted to create a place where people could be encouraged, inspired, networked and equipped to live out THEIR calling in THEIR city where GOD had called them. Not COPY us, or any of the speakers, leaders or churches…but their unique calling.

The rest is history. Had it not been for our crazy team of radical at New Hope, THE STICKS would not be anything more than a dream. I didn’t even come up with the name…Kevin Rush did. Our team lived it and brought it hard. Thank you NEW HOPE…you will never know the lives that were and will be changed as a result of that spark that was lit.

Then God sent us to the middle of nowhere in Utah for round two. 25+ cities without 1 church in our backyard alone. Doing both THE STICKS and planting while keeping my God and my family at center stage was not even possible. So we laid it down for a season when a crazy man called me.

His name was Artie Davis. Having the same passion, he asked to take it over and run with it as we planted and focused on Utah. Artie has been blessed with a church of 2K+ in a town of 12,000 in nowhere, SC. He also runs what will be the largest small town church planting network in the country.

And yes again, the rest is history…or more appropriately, is being written. Today I am driving to THE STICKS in South Carolina and this is the last hurrah for me as the main director. As Artie and I navigate the future, I am sure that a perfect role will emerge for me to keep this passion alive while balancing the demands of planting in such a tough place.

I will still be running the coaching network, but the time-consuming task of creating a conference with no money and no staff…those days are over. Thanks Artie for writing some amazing history and keeping the small town passion alive and blazing.

I can’t wait to see what God is going to do this week. It will be an amazing 2 days and lives will be IMPACTED in ways like you have never seen in your life. THANK YOU JESUS for your call in my life and for allowing me to be a small part of raising up YOUR Kingdom. That’s always what it has been about, if you really knew me.

See you in nowhere, SC…because we are a tribe who goes where nowhere else wants to go…and we are more than passionate about that.