5 reasons I love LifeGate Church

Over 16 months ago we moved to Lexington, KY for a great opportunity that my wife had with the University she works for. There were several reasons this was a great choice for us but the two main reasons was that it was closer to family and that it gets us closer to the vision that God has laid on our hearts.

When making the decision the first thing we did was start looking for churches. We decided that if we wanted to one day plant a church that maybe it would be a good idea to attend and help out a church plant for our time in Lexington. So God led us to LifeGate Church. Here are the top 5 reasons why I love LifeGate Church:

5. ARC - LifeGate is a part of the Association of Related Church which focuses on planting churches. I love this because of the encouragement that the ARC team offer (no matter the size of the church they pastor) and the passion they have for reaching people!

4. The lead staff team, led by Pastor Ashley Wilson, are amazing! These group of leaders are so passionate about Jesus changing our city it is infectious. If you spend more than 5 minutes with any of them you know there is something different in their life!

3. The Dream Team of Volunteers are absolutely incredible! The volunteers at LifeGate want to make an impact in our city and they take ownership of the areas of ministry they serve in. Many of them have full time jobs, but make a commitment to be a part of LifeGate and serve in ministries that take a lot of time and energy...(shout out to the Roadie Team - who unloads and loads the trailer every week; LG Kids Team- who set up their environment and love on kids; Cafe/Usher/Hospitality Teams - for being the front lines; Worship Team - these guys practice more than anyone I know and bring it every week!).

2. Real People - this church is full of people who don't care to be fake. Everyone has a story and their story reflects the realization that at some point they were in need of Jesus. They are unashamed about the love they have for Jesus but they don't try to cover it up by being unreal.

1. JESUS IS CENTER - In everything that LifeGate does, Jesus is the focus. Jesus is the foundation of every outreach, every small group, every fun event, and so on. If you come to a weekend experience you are going to hear about how much Jesus loves you and desires a relationship with you. Its not about fluff, its about pointing people to Jesus.

I am so honored to be a part of this amazing church!

Loving Where God is Leading

I've always had a some sort of desire to be a part of a church plant or even possibly planting a church. This desire has definitely come from God because I used to tell God that I never would be a pastor. Then He called me to ministry. Then I said I would never go on the mission field. Then He sent me to Jamaica. Then I used to say I would never plant a church. Now, God has led us to LifeGate Church.

God has placed us here in Lexington, Ky and has led us to an amazing church. LifeGate Church has been the vision of Ashley Wilson for a while and realty was launched back in February. Over the past few weeks, Cyndi and I have really been getting to know Ashley and his wife Jamie and their awesome kids.

God is doing something big and I believe whole heartedly that He is going to use LifeGate Church in a mighty way. I love this journey that He has placed us on.