There we were, my wife Ivah and I, walking around Hackberry Creek one humid August evening when suddenly we saw a string of flashing lights. At first we didn’t know where they were coming from. Then, we saw it. The flashing lights were coming from IBC. Later we came to learn that the lights we saw flashing were due to a false alarm. For us, however, it was no mere accident. We took it as an invitation from God to visit the church.
We had just moved from Pittsburgh, PA where I had pastored a church for nearly four years. Leaving the denomination of our birth for theological reasons, Ivah and I moved to Dallas (her home) under the conviction that God was up to something. At the time of the noted incident, we were in the process of looking for a new church home (a daunting task to say the least). And though I was still in the process of recovering from the massive transition, I couldn’t help but wonder what God had in store for us a ministry couple.
Going to church the next day (it was a Sunday) we met two awesome IBCers, Craig and Linda Johnson. After hearing our story and heart for ministry (not to mention our lingering pain) Craig introduced me to Dr. Barry Jones, who immediately believed that God was up to something. He was right! Throughout the next year as we happily served, we began to wonder what it might look like to plant a church in the city of Dallas.
Now, it’s true…Dallas has a lot of churches! Yet, it didn’t take us long to notice the abundance of people who had either left the Christian faith or had never been introduced to it at all. There were entire neighborhoods that lacked a church that bore witness to the gospel in its midst. The more I thought about it the more convinced I became; Dallas needs new churches. I guess God was doing something, because in August of 2015 we were invited into the church-planting residency at IBC.
Now, after a whole year of preparation, we’re venturing out to plant Epiphany Church in the Lower Greenville neighborhood of the city.
Just as the earliest Christians proclaimed and demonstrated the gospel, we hope that Epiphany will be the type of church that “Makes God’s Story Known.” We envision Epiphany being a church where those who have not experienced faith or have walked away from their faith can find a place to belong and experience God anew. Taking spiritual responsibility for our neighborhood, we hope that our neighbors will come to hear and see God in a new way due to the life of our faith community. That’s what an epiphany is after all, “a moment in which you suddenly see or understand something in a new or very clear way.”
While Epiphany will not publicly launch until April 16, 2017 (Easter Sunday), you we’d ask you to consider supporting it now in two very important ways:
1. Prayer. As it was with the early church, we know that the work of God cannot be accomplished outside of prayer. Therefore, I kindly ask you to pray for Lower Greenville, it’s people, and for those who will join our core group of leaders as the nucleus of the church.
2. Connections. Do you have friends or family living in the east Dallas that you’d like to connect to Epiphany? If so, I would love to get in contact with them. You can reach me via email at [email protected]. You may also choose to ask them to follow the church via Facebook.
It’s hard to believe that an entire year has passed since joining IBC as a church planter in residence. Throughout that time, Ivah and I have enjoyed calling IBC our church family. Your encouragement and support have been an immense blessing to us personally. The relationships we’ve developed have made us better people. Moreover, Epiphany would have remained merely a dream absent from your generosity. Thank you for joining us in our belief that one more church can make a difference in our city. Thank you for joining us in our conviction that God is indeed up to something!